mole http://www.trifter.com/tags/mole New posts about mole What to Do in Turin 2 http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/What-to-Do-in-Turin-2.110162 Tram 15 takes you down Via Po from Piazza Castello, but you might want to take a walk under the porticos that run the length of the street. Along the way stop in for coffee at Caffe Roberto. At the end of the street the Piazza Vittoria Veneto sprawls in all directions, ending at the river, and if you stand somewhere in the middle of the chaos of tram lines and overhead cables and look above the roofs of the fabulous buildings you'll see the spire of the Mole Antonelliana soaring up over the city. Start walking towards it and when you lose sight of it in the narrow streets away from the open Piazza just keep heading in the direction of where you last saw it - you'll hit it eventually.

Aesthetically the Mole is like the Eiffel Tower - it's so ugly that it's beautiful. It's really a garden folly of epic proportions. The Jews of Turin commissioned a wacky architect to build them a synagogue way back whenever, but they took fright when they saw what he was coming up with and abandoned the project. The city fathers then took it over and today it houses a museum in praise of the development of cinema - a must see.

It's also a shrine to Gianni Agnelli (Mr Fiat). On the interior wall a spiral walkway lifts you ever higher past a photographic history of his life, and whatever politicians and statesmen he wasn't photographed with probably weren't worth meeting.

The cinematic artifacts are displayed in rooms off the main structure and are well worth the visit. All the developments in cinematography are documented starting back with lanterns making shadows on canvas screens.

In the centre (I speak British English) of the vast vault that was originally intended to house rather a lot of worshipers an elevator rises from the floor to disappear up into the spire to let passengers walk round an observation platform. This is certainly not for everybody, but the access to it is deceptive and you don't realise what the deal is until it's too late.

The elevator car is glass on all sides and holds 9 people plus operator. It takes 59 seconds to get to its destination and makes its way there when 5 improbably thin wires pull it all the way to the top.. There's no structure around the car, just these wires attached to its lid, so as it lifts the passengers eventually find them selves dangling in empty space. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. Then you have to go down the same way.

The view from the top on a good day is superb: Alps in the distance, and down below all the landmarks that you've already become familiar with. Pity about the anti-suicide fence though.

Set aside a full morning for this, especially if you want to do the museum justice, and go as early as possible (opens at 10.00) to avoid too big a queue for the elevator.

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