Meeting the Mayor of Torino and Californians!

Where else but Torino's City Hall building can you meet important figures in the city's political world as well as someone who once lived in Los Alamitos? Why if you had received an email from the City of Torino's communications dept. to attend a press conference as two Americans, Anthony L. Cardoza (Berkeley) and a Peter Gammons/Eric Idle look-a-like in Geoffrey W. Symcox (UCLA), spoke to a gathering in Torino's City Council meeting room about their important historical book "A History of Turin."

Let me say that it was interesting to hear two men speak perfect English during their turns to speak about exactly what the title implies: examining the history of a city that, until the Winter Olympics, likely wasn't on the minds of anyone in the Unites States. Several other dignitaries spoke in Italian while I wore a headset for the English translator for such people as Alessandro Altamura (President of the Torino City Council), Pierto Rossi (President of the Science Academy in Torino) and, of course, Sergio Chiamparino (Mayor of Torino).

All of these people, as well as a room mixed with Italians who I'm not so sure were journalists, me the freelancer from California (and anyone I've met so far when I say that gets a little more excited) and, right next to me, Lucia Bobbio, a woman who lives in Torino now, but said she's lived in Los Alamitos and Long Beach and was impressed when I said Seal Beach to her. Lucia was accompanied by her adult son who, other than he and I saying Ciao to each other never said his name to me.

Anyway, the book -- a complimentary copy -- gives Torino and, most importantly, those of us who, when we're asked about cities in Italy and Rome, Venice, Florence and Milan are what come to mind first, a reason to add another important city to that list. Now I'm not saying people should force themselves to add Torino to their list of Italian places they need to see, but what's most amazing about being here is that I get to see a major city (pop. 1,050,000) in the early stages of a complete makeover. It's a city that hopefully more people can come away understanding isn't all about Fiat, the Shroud of Turin and just being an industrial city (or joking that it's just "the Detroit of Italy").

I've already seen the stories about how Torino isn't getting much love from its big-city brothers in Italy. Milan and Torino might be close on a map, but I've also heard people say the two cities are not close when it comes to relations. It might just be jealousy that Torino, the first capital of Italy, has the Olympics and the rest of Italy hasn't embraced it as much as one might think if you're in the USA.

The book I received was in English, but it is also published in Italian -- yes, the authors do speak Italian -- and those gathered to get a copy of the book seemed generally eager to read about their city. It is an important work in that the city now can have a reference available for anyone to read and enjoy and to keep an official record of a city as it begins to evolve even more because of snowboarders, skiers, skaters and yes, even someone whose sport is the skeleton.

Ciao from Torino!