I was in Turin, Italy, last weekend on a very brief visit. I didn’t have a lot of time to roam and wander but managed to take a few shots of things that grabbed my attention.
At Piazza Della Repubblica preparations were taking place for the impending White Night Festival, Notte Bianca. In the picture below there is a double conversation, that of the two men setting up equipment echoing the gestures of the backdrop. I like the contrast of the present day masculine rock style – simple black T shirts, logos, jeans opposed to the colours and luxurious draped fabrics of the figures in the printed background, which in itself is a copy of a historical artwork:
Taking up the theme of gesture and pointing, the dynamic hand position of this monument to Giovanni Battista Bottero in the leafy and pretty Piazza lV Marzo caught my eye:
At dusk, a man cycling along the banks of the River Po on a Turin City rental bike looked very dashing – potentially a hipster groom – in his white clothes, cream jacket, shades, trainers and big yellow scarf which coordinated with the bike frame:
On the other side of the river, someone has written two-toned, bilingual, cursive and woeful love graffiti: Ti amo, you are my alleluiya come back …
Some torn street art by an artist called Blub featuring screen icons Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg engaging in an imaginary underwater kiss. I think this also grabbed my attention as I love Marcello Mastroianni and deduce this was inspired by the kissing scene at the Trevi Fountain in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, but with artistic license as there are no goggles in the film! Appropriately this was spotted near the Museo Nazionale del Cinema at Mole Antonelliana:
On another wall an antifascist marble memorial from the end of WW2, with an additional little floral tribute juxtaposed with contemporary graffiti:
More graffiti at the end of Piazza Vittorio Veneto – a blue dog, blue skies and temple-like structures with Latin inscriptions:
On the subject of text and lettering, I like the retro font on the Turin street signs – if anyone knows what it is?
Another example of a retro style is seen in local tram seats:
I liked decorative and abstract qualities of the combination tram cables and ornate street lighting:
And another abstract with a glimpse of the city seen through the window of a pretty No.13 tram:
The next image is another street abstract: I like the combination of the classic, earthy terracotta wall and aged brickwork together with the digital advert. The warm tones of the weathered wall juxtaposed with the phallic and machine-like imagery of the smokeless cigarette were very striking to me:
On the pedestrianised shopping street Via Garibaldi I spotted this highly decorative metal gate with a badge at its centre, which appeared to be standing on a tiled carpet comprised of gaudy posters, amongst which were representations of American icons Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson.
Regarding the iconic I was privileged to be a guest at Juventus Football match – here’s the classic black and white, apparently inspired by Nottingham County, in a table football machine seen in the lobby of the stadium:
And some fans, pre match: