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Turin
Turin is
the largest city in Piedmont and the
fourth-largest in the country. For the
first few decades of this century, it
was the automobile capital of the
world. It was here that the Futurists
became so excited with the potential of
mechanized transport that they declared
Time dead – henceforth, they naively
declared, everything would be measured
in terms of speed alone. The city
remains the focus of Italy’s
automobile industry. Fiat offer
guided tours of their headquarters,
where a full-scale test track may be
found on the roof. Turin does, of
course, add up to far more than an
infatuation with motor cars. The
inhabitants boast that, with its broad,
tree-lined avenues flanked by tall,
handsome townhouses, it is La Parigi
d’Italia, the Italian Paris.
Uptown Turin is centered on the main
shopping street, Via Roma, which
links the city’s favorite square, the
Piazza San Carlo, with its most
dramatic building, the baroque Palazzo
Madama, which houses the Museum
of Ancient Art, one of several
nationally important museums in the
city. The Turin Shroud may be
viewed in the 15th-century white marble
Cathedral.
Bologna
Bologna is one of the oldest cities in
Italy and the site of Europe’s oldest
university. Often overlooked as a
tourist destination, it nevertheless
possesses a distinctive charm, due
largely to the imaginative use of
brickwork. Arcades flanking many of the
streets add to the appeal. Notable
buildings include the Cathedral of
San Pietro, the huge Gothic Church
of San Petronio, numerous palaces
and the Leaning Towers of the Piazza
di Porta Ravegnana. The city is
also the home of Bolognese meat sauce
and the Bologna sausage.
Trieste
In
the 18th century, the Austrian Emperors
commissioned the construction of a
deep-water port at Trieste and
so ended Venice’s long domination of
the Adriatic Sea. The port has remained
the most important in the area and,
following the collapse of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire after the First
World War, was ceded to Italy. This
arrangement was not finally formalized
until 1962, when a long-running border
dispute with the then Yugoslavia was
settled with the aid of the United
Nations. Although there are several
Roman remains (most notably the
2nd-century theatre), the most
prominent buildings are no older than
the port.
Assisi
Assisi is a picturesque medieval hill town
to the east of Perugia. Famous as the
home of St Francis, founder of the
Franciscan Order of monks, it attracts
many tourists. The life of St Francis
is commemorated in 28 frescoes by
Giotto in the Basilica di San
Francesco, Italy’s earliest
Gothic church.
Ski
Resorts
The majority of the Italian ski resorts
are in the Alps and in the Dolomites,
although there are also a few in the Apennines
and it is possible to ski along the
slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily.
The following examples all have hotels,
boarding houses and/or self-catering
and are equipped with first-class lift
systems.
Valle
d’Aosta: Cervinia, Courmayeur,
Chamois, Gressoney, La Thuille, Pila,
Valtournenche.
Piemonte:
Bardonecchia, Claviere, Limone-Piemonte,
Macugnaga, Sauze d’Oulx, Sestriere,
Sportinia.
Lombardia:
Aprica, Bormio, Chiesa di
Valmalenco, Foppolo, Livigno, Madesimo,
Ponte di Legno, Santa Caterina di
Valfurva, Tonale.
Trentino:
Andalo, Canazei, Madonna di Campiglio,
Marilleva, Pozza di Fassa, San Martino
di Castrozza.
Alto
Adige (Südtirol): Alpi di Siusi (Seiseralm),
Campo Tures (Sand in Taufers), Colfosco
(Kolfuschg), Corvara in Badia (Kurfar),
Crontour area (ten localities),
including Brunico (Bruneck) and San
Vigilio di Marebbe (St Vigil in
Enneberg), Dobbiaco (Toblach), Nova
Levante (Welschnofen), Ortisei (St
Ulrich), Passo Stelvio (Stilfserjoch)
(only summer skiing), Renon (Ritten),
San Candido (Innichen), Santa Cristina
Valgardena (St Christina), Selva di Val
Gardena (Wolkenstein), Val Senales (Schnalstal).
Friuli-Venezia
Giulia: Piancavallo, Sella Nevea.
Veneto:
Alleghe, Arabba, Ravascletto, Cortina d’Ampezzo,
Falcade.
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