72. TORINO – The Egyptian Museum

The city map boasts a whole host of museums but I only made it to two. The people of Torino are very proud of their Egyptian museum, boasting that it is only second to that in Egypt. I haven’t seen the museum in Egypt but I have visited the BritishMuseum, and frankly, I preferred it to that in Torino. I confess, my view is biased because the attendant gave me an aural guide, and when I went to select “Italian” it ONLY played English. By then I was walking along the main exhibitions and I was not prepared to go back and change. It is that insulting attitude which annoys me: “he’s not Italian so give him the English version,” or French or whatever without allowing the recipient to make the original request.

What I found tedious was [and the Italians are so good at this!] the emphasis placed on the prowess of the Italian[s] who discovered the artifacts and were so much better than the archaeologists from other countries –French, English, German – oh , “look upon my works ye mighty and despair”. I would have much preferred to read about the display itself and less about who found it. And while we are on the subject of ruins, be they Egyptian or Roman –Torino boasts some Roman ruins. They are worth a visit [a bus/tram ride], but don’t expect Rome, or Tivoli or Fiesole. Take your lunch and enjoy the tranquility.

Not far from the Mole is the radio and television museum. Nothing as dramatic, really just a few exhibits from the past, but worth taking in en passant. [It’s free.] Right across the street is a building with a wonderful gate. There are so many little treasures like this, as for example, the gate at the Opera Theatre. Torino boasts not just wrought-iron gates, but stained glass windows, and little metal griffins for the observant.