The 5 Sense - hand
TURIN AS SEEN BY DEL PIERO
Give in to the gentle charms of Turin!!
I don't remember my first impression of Turin, arriving here from Padua to play for Juventus - twelve years ago now..
Maybe
the obvious things struck me - the geometric
regularity of the intersections, the
elegance of the centre, the misty winter
climate, the white crown of the Alps on
windy days. One thing for certain was that is was my new home and I hoped it would be for a long time.
Now that coming home means coming back to Turin, I have grown to know it well, growing fond of certain places and to feel as if I'm part of it...
For years I lived in piazza Carlina, and I used to stand on the terrace that looked out onto the roundabout, trees, flower beds, cafés outside and I liked everything I saw - and I still like it.
Moving house though to live on the hill meant my view was transformed into in a panorama that allows me to almost embrace the whole city... the area behind the Po is really nice and I loving driving up along these lanes, round the bends - preferably when there's no snow!
What catches your eye and makes Turin fascinating, among other things, is its double nature, made up of aristocracy, Savoy and early Italian capital on one side, and factories and workers on the other.
This is why places attract me where you can see the industrial backbone of the city, like the Lingotto or the unmistakable shapes of the gasometers in the Vanchiglia area.
And for other reasons, I'm fond of the Municipal Stadium, where we used to train up until a couple of years ago, but also the road that takes me to the Delle Alpi Stadium on a Sunday morning, my adrenaline level up with the stars and that impatience in my legs to get out onto the pitch.
Every once in a while - if I can - I like to walk (the centre is fortunately still pedestrian friendly), especially late in the evening, not so much to avoid the crowds and fans who, even though they are fantastic and warm, are never intrusive here (another reason for liking living here!) but more to enjoy the empty roads, lit up by lamp-posts or, just before Christmas, with the Christmas lights, to breathe in the night air and green of the city that with the dark feels better and helps me relax.
My favourite destination in these cases is almost always the "old" area of Turin around the Duomo and the quadrilatero, with its unusual and medieval landscape and narrow, twisted lanes.
I would recommend to whoever visits the city for the first time to not miss the area around via della Rocca and especially piazza Cavour, very beautiful indeed, with its hillocks and century old trees, or the Valentino, at any time.
A real must on a clear day (but without suffering from heights) is the Mole, from where you can enjoy a stunning panorama, before then having a browse around the Cinema Museum that is both interesting and very attractive.
Like any city, Turin changes face and atmosphere with the change of the seasons.
In spring, the tree-lined avenues and the hill turn bright green and training is moved outside into the warm air that gets hotter and hotter as we approach the final phases of Championship and Champions League...
Around the end of May - beginning of June there are the traditional celebrations for the Championship, with the town centre taken as hostage by streams of Juventus fans: the last time, during the 28th Championship - it was unbelievable.
So give in to the gentle charms of the city.
You'll certainly be well rewarded, as I have been.