Right place to say “I love you”
Having already found myself high up on this hill, it was the perfect opportunity to keep myself traveling (mostly) horizontally and make it over to the Balconata Giusto Gervasutti, a gorgeous viewpoint right in front of the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Monte dei Cappuccini. Even on such a gloomy day (and with not one alpine peak in sight!) the view was absolutely stunning.
Borgo Po is a district in Turin extending over the hilly area across the River Po from the city center. It originated as a modest village, inhabited by those who used the river to fish and wash to make a living.
It connected with the rest of Turin by a wooden bridge until the 15th century, when a stone bridge was built by Antonio Becchio da Villanova. This was demolished in 1807 to make way for a new masonry bridge, which remains to present time. Today, Borgo Po is an affluent residential neighborhood.
Parco del Valentino
Having originally opened in 1856, Parco del Valentino is Turin’s second largest park (the first is Pellerina Park, which is Italy’s most extended urban green area).
It is theorized that its name comes from an ancient chapel to Saint Valentine that was on the site, but which was ultimately lost. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, eventually purchased this land in the 16th century.
Borgo Medievale
The Parco Valentino is also home to the Borgo Medievale, an open air museum of a reconstructed medieval village and castle. It was built in 1884 using 40 sites all across Piedmont and the Aosta Valley as models.
It was unfortunately undergoing renovations when I visited (it is meant to reopen in 2026), so much of it was covered in scaffolding and its shops were closed.
Gold Colored Fox 