Turin: 15 Views of the Mole Antonelliana

My first stop in Italy was Turin.  I found Turin to be an easy city to navigate. The central city has a clear grid structure, with wide streets and several larger squares.  There was a mix of architectural styles including Baroque, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, and Rationalist.  Several of the larger streets are flanked with austere buildings of the Rationalist style. These often had cloisters, that gave welcome cover from the strong sun or rain (both of which I experienced). Much of the city seemed to be built up to the same height. The few taller buildings really stood out. The most striking of these was the Mole Antonelliana.

The Mole Antonelliana is 167.5 metres tall, the tallest unreinforced brick building in the world (built without a steel girder skeleton). Construction began in 1863. It was originally intended as a synagogue. However, after the the construction budget spiralled 3-fold without completion, the project passed to the city of Turin. Completed in 1889, from 1908 to 1938, the city used the Mole to house its Museum of the Risorgimento.  Since 2000 it has housed the National Museum of Cinema. The Mole acted as a handy beacon for my navigation of the city and I decided to use it for a mini-project, trying to find as many views as I could.

90 Minutes in Chambery

I have recently returned from an inter-railing holiday to Italy. My journey took me through France, to Turin, Naples, Rome and Milan, before returning via Zürich and Paris.

My first stop was the French city of Chambery. This is the largest city of the Savoie department, in the south-eastern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. I was only in the city for a total of 12 hours, and for half of that time, I was asleep. So I can't say I explored the place in any depth. I did manage a 90-minute photo walk in the morning, before I had to grab a quick breakfast and get on another train. I started and finished in one of the main squares, which has a large fountain, featuring the front ends of four life-sized elephants. Given that this was the Alps, I did wonder if this was a Hannibal reference, but apparently not. My walk took me through narrow streets and small squares, where I found a pleasing mix of old and modern buildings. I would have liked to have explored more, but the train wouldn't wait.