My 24 Hours in Torino

My 24 Hours in Torino

Turin seemed to have numerous good-luck-inducing opportunities throughout, as well. In legend, Turin is the only city that is part of both the triangle of white magic (with Lyon and Prague) and the triangle of black magic (with London and San Francisco). The first one is the bull, which is the namesake of the city. Just like with the more popular one in Milan, there is a tiled mosaic of one under one of the porticoes near the Martini sign; as you walk by, you are supposed to step with your right heel on the bull’s balls, though the tradition seems a bit different than in Milan. In Milano, it seems to be a touristy thing to do, but there you go, balance on the poor guy’s testicular region with your right heel, and then you are supposed to spin around three times; In Torino, I was told to watch, and I noticed that even locals pass over the bull, twisting but not stopping. And they do it without looking, which also seems to be part of Turin tradition, making it seem like the bull’s balls were just incidentally the next step for each passerby.

Leaving the lucky area, we came across a piazza with countless art installations. Turin is a very cultured city, and there were many independent art displays around. The most interesting one, unanimously among our group, was the Bwindi Light Masks installation, by the artist Richi Ferrero.

Following that hauntingly-interesting display, Paolo led us over to a cafe to have a city specialty drink, the bicherin, which is an espresso-based beverage with melted dark chocolate and whipped cream on top – a mocha on performance-enhancing drugs. Then it was off to our first aperitivo, which is a tradition in northern Italy involving drinks and food. Torino and Milano each claim to be the home of the aperitivo, so we would also try Milan’s version the following day. Basically, aperitivo is a light meal of tapas usually, revolving around an alcoholic drink. Most bars serve an aperitivo course in Turin, and you go there, pay a slight premium for a drink, and have access to an unlimited buffet bar of tapas and light dinner foods.

Joseph had to go stay in Milan for the night, since he had to be at the American embassy at some ungodly hour of the morning to fix something with his visa and passport, so after aperitivo, Paolo took him back to the train, and Allie and I went to a bar for some rum drinks. We sat down, met many of Paolo’s literary friends, and soon Paolo returned to join us for a bit before we called it a night. The next morning, it was off to Milan to continue our trip.

I fell in love with Torino, and it stood out as probably my favorite city in Italy that we visited that time. I love large cities, so the nearly 1 million population is a good start, but it also has a small-town charm to it, especially in the outer neighborhoods, such as where Paolo’s apartment is. I will definitely be back!

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