I went to Turin in the middle of July and I spent a couple of days there. I saw the main attractions, like the Vittorio Veneto Square, Po Street, Gran Madre di Dio Church, etc. However, there was one that I hadn't been to: The Valentino Park.
On my return to Lyon, I couldn't take the bus on the day that I wanted to, so I was forced to spend two more days in Turin. So, this extra time allowed me to visit this beautiful park!
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If we have the Tête d'Or Park in Lyon, then Turin has the Valentino Park. This park is located next to the river Po (one of the two rivers that go through Turin: the Po and the Dora) and it has an area of almost 50 hectares... It is so big! Furthermore, it is the oldest park in the city of Turin.
At the start, when I arrived at the park, I didn't like it very much. The grass was dry and taking the beautiful French Tête d'Or Park as a comparison... Well, you can imagine the difference. Nonetheless my friend, who I was with at the time, suggested that we keep walking. Further along, I liked it a lot better, and you will see why.
The first part I didn't like
The Valentino Castle:
The first thing that we saw was a huge building in a reddish stone. It was the Castle of Valentino. My friend told me that this place was the headquarters of the Architectural Department of the Polytechnic University of Turin. I really envy these students! To come here every day to study... How lucky they are! It is a huge castle with the main façade in white stone. I don't know why one side is a different colour to the other side, but it is still so beautiful. We didn't have much time, so we couldn't go inside the place, but I am sure that it is a very interesting place to visit calmly. Furthermore, I saw on the map that within the gardens of this castle, there is also a botanical garden. It belongs to the University of Turin. So, if you're going to study at Turin, pick architecture or botany so that you can go to the Valentino Castle everyday!
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Gorgeous, no?!
The Borgo Medievale Museum:
In this park, as well as visiting the large green areas and the Valentino Castle, you can also come to the Borgo Medivale Museum. Even so, despite what one may think, this place does not date back to within this era. In fact, it was constructed in 1884 for the Turin Universal Exhibition.
The entrance to the Borgo Medievale Museum
Outside the Borgo Medievale Museum, there was a man playing an accordion
At the beginning, the entrance left me open-mouthed because you would not expect to see a medieval settlement in the middle of a park. When I knew that it wasn't from this era, it surprised me even more because the details in the architecture strongly mirror the look of the buildings from the Middle Ages. On one of the plaques there, I read that in fact it is a combination, and the details of this museum are authentically Medieval. That is to say that the ones in charge of its design and construction based it on real buildings.
The building is dedicated to Medieval architecture. There is a part that you go enter into for free. It is in fact, a "reproduction" of a small Medieval village, with its different shops, houses and workshops. It even has its own church! If you want to enter inside the interior rooms, you have to pay. I don't remember how much it was exactly, but to me it seemed a little expensive. Furthermore, going through into the Borgo Medieval Patio is more than sufficient to admire this place!
Details of the perfectly-designed medieval buildings
With these details, you would think you were in another time period...
When we left, we arrived at one of the many places to eat inside the park. If you get hungry and you didn't bring anything to eat, you can buy an ice cream, a panini, or a hamburger in the Valentino Park. If you want something a bit more filling and elaborate, there are also restaurants, strictly speaking. We passed in front of a one whose decoration caught my attention: it had a terrace on the outside, with white umbrellas and candles. Furthermore, it also seemed like the food was good and not too expensive, either.
One of the park's restaurants
And of course, what else: street sellers! "Buy, buy, buy! Buy this pretty hat for the boy, the girl, the cousin, the nephew". This is what the sellers said, in Italian of course!
The Roccioso Garden, or the most tender place in the park
We continued walking and we arrived to what was my favourite section in the park: the Roccioso Garden, meaning the "Rocky" garden. It is just a garden with rocks and small "rivers". It was built in 1961, also for a Universal Exhibition, and it was beautiful!
I didn't just like it because of all the flowers that were there, but also because of the cute little sculptures. There were various metallic sculptures that were all simply... cats! Which I love, I adore cats, I have always wanted to have one and still I have never. So, I took some photos here. There were also kids playing and various other people taking photos of the metal cats. So when you go, you have to be patient until it's your turn!
There were two sculptures that caught my attention. One is of two lamp posts that sat on a bank. They were placed in a way that made them look as if they were a couple of lovers... Very romantic!
The lamp posts, a cat and me...
The other that I liked a lot was one with a sleeping fisherman, and next to it, the hamper is open with his fish inside it, and you see a cute, mischievous cat who's about to have a feast.
Sleeping fisherman
And a cat having a snack
We didn't go through the whole of the park, it is so big and you would have to spend an entire day here. We left through a door that was near the Roccioso Garden. Exiting by here, we stumbled upon a monument to Amadeo de Savoia.
Hours
This park is open 24 hours a day. That is to say, there are no bars or anything that restricts your access at the time that suits you best. However, my friend told me that it's better to go during the day or, if you go later, it's better not to go to the part where the "dry grass" was because that's where sometimes there are some "little gangs". Anyway, well, as always, you have to be careful everywhere.
So, in conclusion, the large Valentino Park is an unmissable place to visit in Turin. It is one of the jewels of the city that holds many delightful surprises!
