In the baroque centre of Turin, an even grid of streets makes orientation very easy. One of the most refined points is Via Roma, central artery of the city. This is where the most expensive shops are located, the most chic cafes and the most elegant squares (m.in. Piazza San Carlo, in the vicinity of which the most prestigious museums are located). Via Roma ends at the equally refined Piazza Castello. The square is surrounded by royal palaces, but traffic here somewhat disturbs the contemplation of the past. From here you can go in different directions. Via Pietro Micca leads to an elegant complex of pedestrian-only shopping routes to the west. This area is a bit calmer than Via Roma and it is worth going there especially in the evening passeggiata (walks). In the north lies a large (quite littered by the daily market held here) square known as Piazza della Repubblica. To the southwest, on the other hand,, towards the river and the extensive, Parco del Valentino, which comes alive in the evenings, lead the dilapidated arcades of Via Po. Behind the park lies an interesting car museum, while on the hills behind the river there are numerous, maintained in the Art Deco style, villas of wealthy Thuringians. It is worth visiting the Basilica di Superga and the Stupinigi Palace.
North of Porta Nuova: Egyptian Museum and Galleria Sabauda.
After leaving the Porta Nuova station, you can immediately see the symmetry characteristic of the city. However, the once elegant arcades of Via Nizza and Corso Vittorio Emanuele are teeming with prostitutes and beggars.. In the beginning of Via Roma, nicely maintained park in Piazza Carlo Felice is a bit calmer, although the better-off Turinians also avoid this place. In the middle of the length of the street there is a large, symmetrical and stylish Piazza San Carlo, enjoying a rather well-deserved fame of the Turin salon. In the surrounding buildings, decorated with yellow-brown stucco, there are many elegant cafes. In the middle of the square, a monument to Emanuel Filibert on horseback catches the eye. Representing the Duke of Savoy, the figure raises the sword triumphantly as a sign of victory. The battle won by the prince against the French and Spanish at San Quintino (1574) ensured Turin's independence. The entrance to the square is guarded by two twin baroque churches of San Carlo and Santa Cristina. Visible on the facades naked, convulsively shrunken figures are symbols of two rivers flowing through Turin, Padu and Dory.
Museo Egizio, located just behind Piazza San Carlo (Tue-Sat. 9.00-14.00 and 15.00-19.00; 3000 L), contains a wonderful collection of Egyptian antiquities. They were gathered here at the end of the eighteenth century thanks to the patronage of Charles Emmanuel III. There are wonderfully decorated coffins, in which mummies were placed, a large collection of everyday objects, of which castanets, Sandals, linen tunic with 2300 BC., and even food, including dried and darkened, but still recognizable eggs, pomegranate and grain. The most interesting object, however, is Kha's Tomb. It is a burial chamber with 1400 BC., owned by architect Kha and his wife Merit. The chamber was discovered in 1906 r. In Deir-el-Medina, the burial place of the architects, stonemasons and painters, employed at the nearby royal necropolis. The grave contains the tools needed by the architect to work, i.e.. elbow measures, box for scales, pens and writing plate, and more everyday things: bed with headrest, clothes, a large portion of food, or even a board game, which was to fill his time after his death. Merit, on the other hand, received a casket for cosmetics, Wig, comb and tweezers, so that she can take care of her appearance after death.
On the first floor there is galleria Sabauda (Tue-Sat. 9.00-14.00 and 14.30-17.00; 3000 L). Created from the private collection of the Dukes of Savoy, to this day it is clearly marked by their tastes: a fairly average collection of Italian paintings is complemented by a good collection of works by Dutch and Flemish artists. Of the Italian paintings, the most interesting is the fifteenth-century, extremely realistic work by Anthony and Piero Pollaiuolo under the title Archangel Raphael and Tobias. Both brothers, studying anatomy and focusing on the problems of presenting the human body in motion, they were only precursors in this field, how easy it is to find out, looking at the sublime, spiritual painting of Filippino Lippi of the same name.
The collection of Northern European paintings contains works of more famous. Apart from a number of French paintings, there are vigorous scenes from the life of peasants, painted by Flemish artists, m.in. Pieter Bruegel, David Teniers the Younger and van Dyck. It is also worth looking at the intriguing canvas The Vanity of Human Life by Jan Brueghl and the Passion of the Lord by Hans Memling, who placed the final episodes of Christ's life in the scenery of the Renaissance city.