Liguria, Piedmont & the Italian Riviera - Italy - page 410

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( www.museorisorgimentotorino.it ; Via Accademia delle Scienze 5; adult/reduced €10/8; 9am-6pm Tue-
Sun) If only school history lessons had been this interesting. After extensive renovations,
this legendary museum reopened in 2011 with an astounding 30-room trajectory covering
the background and details of Italian unification in the very building (the baroque Palazzo
Carignano OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ) where many of the key events happened.
Not only was this the birthplace of Carlo Alberto and Vittorio Emanuele II, but it was
also the seat of united Italy's first parliament from 1861 to 1864. Unmissable!

Museo Egizio
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MUSEUM

(Egyptian Museum; www.museoegizio.org ; Via Accademia delle Scienze 6; adult/reduced €8/6;
8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun) 'The road through Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin'
trumpeted French hieroglyphic decoder Jean-François Champollion in the early 19th cen-
tury, and he wasn't far wrong. Opened in 1824, this legendary museum in the Palazzo
dell'Accademia delle Scienze OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Via Accademia delle Scienze 6) houses the
most important collection of Egyptian treasure outside Cairo.
Two of many highlights include a statue of Ramesses II (one of the world's most im-
portant pieces of Egyptian art) and over 500 items found in the tomb of royal architect
Kha and his wife, Merit (from 1400 BC), in 1906. The museum is in the process of a five-
year refurbishment that should be complete in 2014.

Duomo di San Giovanni
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CATHEDRAL

(Piazza San Giovanni) Turin's cathedral was built between 1491 and 1498 on the site of three
14th-century basilicas and, before that, a Roman theatre. Most ignore the fairly plain in-
terior and focus on a far bigger myth: the church is home to the famous Shroud of Turin (al-
leged to be the burial cloth in which Jesus' body was wrapped). A copy of the cloth is on
permanent display to the left of the cathedral altar.
To get the full story you'll need to visit the Museo della Sindone. The separate
Romanesque-style bell tower looks older than it really is; it was designed by Juvarra and
built in 1723. Just to the north lie the remains of a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , while a little further to the northwest lies Porta Palatina
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , the red-brick remains of a Roman-era gate.