Classes finally started... So here are some of our adventures in Torino

   Traveling has slowed down a little since the last update because our classes have finally started.  We have had to be responsible. =( Since we have had to stay in Torino, we decided to explore some of the local museums and historic sites.  Our first stop was the Palazzo Reale, which is the Royal Palace of the Savoy family.  The Savoys have a very deep history in the Piedmont/Torino area.  The Savoy family held the position of King of Italy from its inception to the last King, in 1946.  During much of this time, Torino was the capital of Italy, and thus it has a great amount of history. Unfortunately we were not able to get many pictures inside the Royal Palace, but I have included one picture we took below.

This is in the entry way to Palazzo Reale

  After visiting Palazzo Reale we decided to venture to the top of a nearby mountain to see a beautiful view of Torino.  On this mountain is the Basilica di Superga, which was built in the early 1700s by a member of the Savoy family.  We learned that when Italy was retaking their independence from French occupation (in the Torino-Piedmont region), he climbed to the top of the mountain and vowed to Mary that if he won the battle, he would build her a huge monument in that spot. In the basement of the Basilica is the Royal Tomb of the Savoy family, including many of the princes, kings, and queens.

Me in front of the Basilica

BJ on the other side of the Basilica

Inside the church

The dome of the church

  We also went to the Egyptian Museum in Torino, which houses the world's second largest collection of Egyptian Artifacts outside of Cario, Egypt.  (artifacts obtain mostly by the Savoy funds, of course) The museum had a little of everything, from actual mummies, to pots, to special artifacts they would place in tombs for the afterlife.  I took a lot of pictures in the museum, but I am only going to include the best ones.

This is the inner coffin, they decorated them very elaborately

I don't think this piece had any real significance, but I thought it was a nice necklace =)

This was put in a tomb to ensure the man and woman buried in it had the boat they needed to take them to the afterlife

They had a really cool section with statues from pyramids

I believe this one was of King Tut and one of the gods

This is classic Egyptian sphinx from what we see in movies.  They had two in the museum, one with a nose and one without.  BJ insisted on a picture of the one without because that is always what is shown in movies

King Tut

They had a replica room of a part of a tomb, and I wanted a picture in it!

No matter the museum, Italy always goes all out in architecture.  This is one of the stairways in the museum.

This is a pharaoh's sarcophagus, but I don't remember the pharaoh's name.