Turin Travel guide

More treasures are within walking distance. A reproduction of the much-disputed Holy Shroud is on view in the cathedral of San Giovanni, around the corner from Piazza Castello in Via XX Settembre. Even if you don't believe this was actually the cloth Jesus was wrapped in after He was removed from the cross, you'll probably enjoy the extraordinary baroque chapel Guarino Guarini designed to house it. Perhaps a more interesting church to visit is the Cappella dei Banchieri e Mercanti in Via Garibaldi (which also starts at Piazza Castello). This is a theme chapel, a baroque representation of the Christmas story as told by 17th-century artists on canvas and in marble.

Once again in Piazza Castello, lovers of antique weapons should visit the Armeria Reale, one of Europe's best arms museums. Car aficionados will want to see the Museo dell'Automobile in Corso d'Unità d'Italia (take bus #34 from the Porta Nuova train station in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II). Oh, and if you insist on seeing something medieval, visit the borgo medioevale in the Parco del Valentino. It was built in 1884, but it's an "authentic reproduction."

Museo Egizio: open Tues-Sun 9-2 (later in summer).

Galleria Sabauda: open Tues-Sun 9-2.

Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna: open Tues-Sun 9-7 (shorter in winter).

Mole Antonelliana: Via Montebello 20, open Tues-Sun 9-7.

Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace): Piazza Castello, open Tues-Sat 9-2; Sun 9-1.

Museo dell'Automobile: open 9:30-12:30 and 3-7 summer hours; 10-12:30 and 3-5:30 winter hours.

Borgo medioevale: open daily 8-8; no admission charge on Fridays.

The Torino Film Festival has also gained international recognition thanks to its in-depth retrospectives, for having proposed tributes dedicated to the authors of today's and yesterday's new cinema, for having contributed to the rediscovery of misunderstood or forgotten classics. This equilibrium between the discovery of the new cinema and the rediscovery of classic cinema is this festival's key to success: it is composed of both curiosity and love for the cinema, a look to the future and a memory of the past. This juxtaposition, which is the driving force behind the only metropolitan festival held in Italy, has been greatly appreciated by the public and has generated much international critical attention as well.

The world's attention is already focused on the city: in Seoul, on 19 June, Torino was assigned the Olympic Winter Games of 2006, confirming its organisational and planning capacities.
Its legitimate ambition to become a city open to new encounters and ready to give its all for major international events has thus been rewarded.
The Olympics will be an extraordinary occasion to design and build the future of Torino, providing greater impetus to the process of renovation that the city has set in motion with its strategic Torino Internazionale plan.
The Olympics are indeed a powerful tool for promoting our region: the two weeks of sports events will put Torino in the international limelight and thousands of sports fans will be guests in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, travelling on our roads and using our services. Thousand of journalists from all around the world, and not only sports writers, will talk about Torino, assessing its efficiency and organisational capacity, its potential for the future, and its cultural and tourist attractions.
Torino will be able to us the Winter Olympics to show itself as a welcoming, hospitable location for economic, sports and cultural events, a place worth visiting before and after the event, where life and work are both pleasant and stimulating. This event will also bring with it considerable resources to build infrastructures, accommodation and sports facilities, creating friendly local support for the organisational machine.
Torino and the other towns involved in the organization of the Games are also committed in the coming years to making the impact of the new infrastructure environmentally friendly - in line with the recommendations of Agenda 21 - and to guarantee their utility after the Olympics, consolidating the development of tourism and providing a range of superb facilities.
Enterprise and shrewd investment will thus be needed in accommodation, in the tourism industry and in sports facilities as well as in the region's artistic and cultural heritage, in the range of services, transport, logistics and telecommunications offered. The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games will co-ordinate and manage the preparation of the event and will work in close contact with all the institutions involved.
Torino 2006 is thus already a reality; thanks in part to the Games, Torino will be able to maintain its legitimate aspirations for renewal and economic growth.