Casablanca Adventure: The New Normal - Professional Development in Turin (Torino), Italy

Ciao, Boun giorno, Boun Sera!

Professional development takes on a new meaning when one is employed overseas. Instead of Winston-Salem, North Carolina (I wonder how many years I went to MENC conferences there!), my first PD for GWA took place in Turin, Italy. How cool is that?

On the Po River, Torino, Italy

A GWA colleague and I left Casa on Wednesday afternoon, and after a quick layover in Rome, arrived safely in Turin.

Turin, AKA Torino, was Italy's first capital city, when the country was newly unified in 1861. It is located in the northern part of the country, on the Po River, and is surrounded by the Western Alps. Torino is also an art city and a Unesco World Heritage Site (like Tangier, in Morocco), and the city is known as the "backbone of Italian car production." Additionally, the Winter Olympics took place there in 2006, which encouraged an urban revival. Historic castles and modern buildings intermix with lovely landscapes.

Po River

We stayed at the Hostellerie du Golf, up the hill from the center of Torino. The facility has an old-timey feel, but my room had clearly been updated and was comfortable (except for the bed!). Beautiful, green hills surround the quiet grounds and golf course. It was kind of like being back in the mountains of North Carolina and was a pleasant respite from the city.

Our hotel

A new friend I met on a walk near the hotel

I loved being in Torino, and only wish I could have spent more time touring and less time working. But, alas, such is life, and the conference was very good. Combining Special Needs, Technology and ESL (English as a Second Language), the event was sponsored by MAIS, the Mediterranean Association of International Schools.

Our host school was the International School of Turin, which was founded in the early 1960's. The facility includes a combination of modern buildings attached to an old villa called Ville Roddolo. Even the old stable area has been transformed into classrooms.

The villa portion of the school

The modern part of the school

Scenery around the school grounds

We did have some time to see some of the city's sights. Torino is probably most famous for the The Shroud of Turin. The shroud is a length of linen cloth that many faithful people believe to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. The shroud, restored in 2002, bears the image of a crucified man. When he was Pope, John Paul II did not claim that it was legitimate, but he did call the cloth "a mirror of the Gospel." It is the single most studied artifact in human history, and its authenticity remains controversial.

The Shroud of Turin

The shroud resides in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. The building was completed in 1498, and both the inside and outside are ornate with many detailed decorations in a typical Catholic style.

The outside of the cathedral

The impressive organ pipes

The altar

Some of the many chapels contained in the cathedral . . .

The best part of my time in Torino was wandering around the Pilazzo Madama. This ancient castle is located in the Plaza Castello, and parts of the building dates back to the Roman age. Later, after losing its defensive function, the castle was transformed into a palace. Currently, it houses Torino's Museum of Ancient Art.

It took me hours to get through the huge facility, which includes four floors and thirty-five rooms. Exhibits include gold and silver works of art, ceramics, porcelains, oriental ivories, and furniture, as well as paintings and sculptures. Some of these are religious, while others are secular in nature. In actuality, to me the building was the most interesting "artifact" of all, with its ornate painted ceilings and lavish decorations.

Medallion reliquary with Virgin and Child with an Angel
It is said to contain some fragments of the True Cross

There was also a lookout from the top of one of the towers of the museum; from there I got to see some beautiful views of Torino.

On our last day, we went to another high lookout point, on the top of the Mole Antonelliana. This major landmark is the tallest brick building in Europe, standing at 550 feet. Construction began in 1863 and was completed in 1889. It is named after its architect, Allessandro Antonell; the word mole means "building of monumental proportions" in Italian. We boarded the glass elevator and it ascended through the Museo del Cinema, which is housed in the building. We didn't have time to tour the museum, but the views from the top were lovely.