Torino e la neve

I'm in Italy! And I'm just really mostly relaxing. I guess coming during the break implies that fewer friends are around, which is unfortunate, but also allows me to just wander around aimlessly by myself, and stay more with my family. Moreover, I've been gifted with an amazing show: snow in Torino! This doesn't happen very often, and also, not as much as this year. Given that I don't have to drive much, snow for me is just a beautiful curtain that gives a magic atmosphere to the city. Two nights ago I walked around taking pictures of some beautiful landmarks, trying to record some of the residual snow on the ground. Here they are, for your enjoyment.
These are the roman 'doors' of the city. In Roman times, Torino (Augusta Taurinorum, at the time) was surrounded by walls, and this was one of the doors to enter.
I took the picture from a skewed angle because I liked the snow on the side, so you can't really see the arches where the chariots and the people used to pass. Here is a front view, without the charming snow, which shows better how impressive the door is. It's amazingly well preserved.
Now, off to another snowy landmark:
This is the 'Mole Antonelliana'. It's the symbol of the city, built by Antonelli starting from 1863. It was initially built to be a synagogue, then the building became various other things, and now it hosts a wonderful museum of the cinema. It's the tallest building in the city, and one of the tallest buildings in brick in Europe. One can take a futuristic elevator and go to almost the top of this building. If the sky is clear, the view of the city and the Alps from there is amazing.
Now, this is not snowy, but it's one of the most beautiful squares in Torino:
It's Piazza San Carlo. The two churches on the back are called 'twin churches', because they look so similar. The beautifully colored lights you see are part of the Christmas lights that are everywhere throughout Torino. They are extremely varied and pretty, and enhance the beauty of some of the most famous streets, churches and squares by night.
This is the statue that's in the middle of the square. It's Emanuele Filiberto, and it's a beautiful bronze statue that now one can admire very well, thanks to the recent creation of a pedestrian area in the whole square.
And this is the Cathedral. Again, only a little snow left in front of it. But I love how it's lit. The famous Shroud with the mysterious image of a body resembling that of Jesus Christ is held in there, and shown only in very special occasions.
At last, speaking about snow, I want to show you two pictures I took from the plane.
These are the Alps, right before landing in Torino:
And these are the much older and rounder mountains seen a little after leaving Berkeley. I think we were somewhere above Idaho, but I'm not exactly sure. If you recognize the spot, let me know. :)
Hopefully you've enjoyed this nightly walk in Torino. I'll have more posts about Torino soon.