Piazza Statuto is one of the most important places in Turin. With a long rectangular shape, you can arrive to it from Corso Francia and Via Garibaldi (the oldest street in Turin). Piazza Statuto is a nice place to have lunch or a drink with a friend.

On these days most of Piazza Statuto is used as a meeting point and a parking lot.

During summer it is common to see a lot of people just hanging around this place.

True Italian life!

Piazza Statuto from the side.

In the center of the square there is an important monument, dedicated to the development to the Fréjus Rail Tunnel.

The monument is a pyramid of huge boulders originating from the tunnel excavation.

The pyramid is surmounted by an winged Genious, under which there are marble figures of Titans. The whole represents the triumph of reason on brute force.

I don’t know what this old man was thinking of the young fellow sited next to him eating pizza.

Baby Leo just saying hello from Piazza Statuto.

View of the square as a whole.

I don’t think this is the most comfortable place to take a nap, but it happens from time to time.

A little bully stealing frame!

A young girl taking her first steps!

I love watching this little construction cars. They seem so small like toys.

Do you like walking downtown? Which one is your favorite square in your city?

Bike Pride was a peaceful gathering in support of cycling as alternative transport in the city. The aim was to give awareness of the ecological and health advantages that this medium provides. It was also an opportunity to ask the people who travel by car some respect for those who use a bike every day.

Hundreds of people joined Bike Pride.

Baby Leonardo is here as my trusted co-pilot.

The route started in the Parco del Valentino and advanced towards the Piazza Vittorio Veneto.

In the next picture you can see La Gran Madre.

There was a great variety of bikes. The most interesting to me was this one… judge by yourself.

The route then took us through the streets of downtown Torino.

The building to the left of the next picture is the Museo Egizio of Turino.

Believe it or not but a lot of people carry pets in their bikes.

Half of the route we had a little break and Leo was already tired.

There is no minimum age to enjoy a bike ride.

Finally we continue the path next to Torino’s Railway Station Porta Nuova.

Corso Vittorio Emanuele II was our road.

Turning right in order to continue again into downtown Torino.

Via Roma is a huge street where you can find the best Italian shops in Turin.

Crossing Piazza de San Carlo.

At the end of Via Roma you will find Piazza Castello, end of our route.

At the end of the event there was a ceremony to officially open ToBike service, which will allow people from Torino and visitors to rent a bike from anywhere they want in downtown Torino.

Do you use your bike as a transportation medium in your city?

First of all, Sofia and I got a couple of Italian flags, but we decided to keep one in original state and convert the other one into a Mexican flag.

So, both of this flags began as Italian flags, but for our surprise both were ‘Made in China’.

Ok, so this is the Italian flag. From left to right you can see the only thing missing here to make a Mexican flag is a Mexican Coat of Arms.

I have placed a Mexican Coat of Arms digitally on this picture. If you know the Mexican flag as I do, you can immediately say that something is wrong… something is out of order.

Now, take a look at the next picture. Is the same flag as before but with some drastic changes, I ripped off some extra fabric from below and …

Now take a look to the ‘new’ flag with the Mexican Coat of Arms. Can you tell the difference between this flag and the last one with the same Coat of Arms?

Well as you can see the difference is more than a Coat of Arms. The Italian Flag has a size proportion of 3/2, this means that for every 3 cms. you take to the right you MUST take other 2 to the bottom. Mexican flag instead has a size proportion of 7/4, this means that for every 7 cms. you take to the right you MUST take 4 to the bottom.

So, the Italian flag looks a little bit ‘taller’ next to the Mexican flag only if BOTH share the same width just like in the next picture. On the contrary, if both flags share the same height, Mexican flag will look larger than the Italian flag.

The next is an animation that shows graphically the size differences between the Mexican and Italian flag.

Another topic of differences among the two flags are colors. Italian flag uses lighter shades of green and red on it’s flag. As of 2010 the original shades of both flags according to Wikipedia are:

Mexican flag

Italian flag

As you can see there are more subtle differences than you thought of.

Santa Maria delle Grazie is a famous church and Domenican convent in Milan, included in the World Heritage sites list. If you are planning to visit this place in order to see this work of art you must buy your tickets online here.

Leonardo’s Last Supper is probably Italy’s most famous painting. It is also one of Italy’s most visited works of art. Remember, this is why we remember you to buy your tickets with time because only small groups from 20 to 25 people are allowed to view this work of art at a time … and only for periods of 15 minutes, so if you arrive without a ticket you must pray that someone don’t show up for you to be able to get a ticket. Reservations here.

This work of art is 4,6 meters height x 8,8 meters wide. Leonardo began working in this painting on 1495 and finished painting on 1498.

As you can see this work covers the back wall of the dining hall of the church. This means that monks used to eat under this wonderful peace of art.

Being there and watch this work of art made me feel amazed by Leonardo’s work. He was really the man.

This Photosynht was taknen from the inside of the crater.

This one is taken from the top of one of the outside sculptures.

Have you ever been to ‘Espacio Escultórico’? Did you like it?

NOTE: If you are not able to see our Photosynths in your email try to open this post in your Internet Browser application http://alfaku.net/world-sightseeing/mexico/espacio-escultorico-unam/

The Shroud of Turin (or Turin Shroud) is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The origins of the shroud and its image are the subject of intense debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers. – Wikipedia

On April 10, 2010, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin (also known as the Domo of Turin) began what in Italian is know as or Solemn Exposition of the Shroud. People from all around the world will have the opportunity to see in person the Shroud for the first time since the year 2000. The exposition to the public will remain open until May 23, 2010.

There is a great discussion on religious and scientific fields. Both try to show the veracity of the Shroud. Many studies have been conducted on the Shroud and not yet able to determine with accuracy if the image of men over the cloth is actually the image of Jesus Christ. We do not stand for any particular position though.

Sofia, Leo and I had the opportunity to visit the Domo of Turin and see the Shroud by ourselves. During our visit I shot a couple of videos and from those videos I extracted the following snapshots.

Shroud of Turin – Video Snapshot No. 1

Original

After color & contrast correction

After color & contrast correction you can see a more detailed silhouette.

Color inverted mode

The best view is obtained after Color inversion, that is turing white color into black and black color into white. Think of it as the negative of an analog picture.

Shroud of Turin – Video Snapshot No. 2 > Front Body Closeup

Original

After color & contrast correction

The color corrected image shows in better detail the body imprinted over the cloth.

Color inverted mode

Shroud of Turin – Video Snapshot No. 3 > Face Closeup

Original

After color & contrast correction

Color inverted mode

The picture shows the detail of the face of a man who held a crown of thorns at the time of his death.

Finally here you can see the videos we took from our visit to Turin’s Dome.

The first video shows a little movie that you see before entering into the Dome. This film shows different points of interest over the Shroud.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L24fMj0N1AA

This is the real Shroud of Turin.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMAzNZjv_IE

On our way out we filmed the line of people waiting to go in.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzVxqcehfms

Please leave your comments.

Despite the passing years, thanks to the excavations is still possible to walk the streets of the city.

It is not an option to come by with a baby in a stroller.

This small theater is known by the name of Odeum, it was probably intended to recite poetry and musical performances. According to inscriptions discovered at the entrance, this structure had a roof that gave it excellent acoustics. The roof was supported against the perimeter walls that marked the stands.

Many of the houses of the city still maintains its interior appearance intact although in some cases the walls have been torn down, wasted by time.

It is not allowed to bring animals to the site, even so we found this dog making it’s way around the site as any other tourist.

This triangular shaped square is surrounded by a portico of ninety-five Doric columns. During our visit it was closed to the public but here are some of the columns.

And this is the family photo overlooking Mount Vesuvius in the background.

If you wish to visit Pompeii pay attention to the following tips:

1. Please pay careful attention while moving. It is not allowed to stand on excavasiones and neither is allowed to step on the walls.
2. You must respect the limits of entry and access.
3. Photos and film footage are authorized exclusively for private use. If you wish to use a tripod, flash and artificial light you must obtain permission from headquarters.
4. Smoking is not allowed inside the site.
5. Animals cannot enter the site..
6. It is recommended to wear low-heeled shoes.

Have you ever been to Pompeii? if not, would you like to?

Sofia got this chocolate Easter Egg in a supermarket. I am just amazed by it’s size.

Wow, it’s huge.

You can’t say I’m faking this image. I can’t really say how tall this egg is… probably more than 15 cms.

Mmm… I was hoping the toy inside the egg to be bigger, though.