Amanda's Adventures : Miss America Goes to Italy! Part I

Wow! I have had the most amazing holiday! I have been back for several days and still cannot get over how incredible it was. I know that this trip was a gift from the Lord and, I believe, has greater significance than I am even aware of at the moment. We'll see what comes of it ;)

The best part of this trip, as I foresaw, was getting to spend time with this amazing friend, Miss Italia, as we like to call her ;) She is such a strong, Godly woman and honestly, she is one of my heroes. So it was a huge blessing to have time to share with her and to hear her heart as well. She is a precious gift from the Lord for me, and I am so thankful for her (& her incredible family who I have now adopted as my Italian family!)

TORINO

Below are just a few pictures I took of the beautiful sights I got to see in Torino. I won't bore you with a lot of explanation; I'll just let the photos do the talking. Enjoy!

The River Po with Gran Madre (aka Big Mama!) on the left

and Monte dei Cappuccini on the hill on the right.

Gran Madre di Dio is a Catholic church which was commissioned in 1814 as a tribute to celebrate the return of the King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia to the crown after the defeat of Napoleon.

Monte dei Cappuccini was built in 1656 for the Capuchin friars, a Franciscan order who continue to base their lives and ministry on the foundational elements of prayer and fraternity.

Beautiful Torino

The tall building on the left is a super ugly building built by Mussolini. Just to the right of it are several palaces (near the green park). This city is fulllllll of palaces.

Gran Madre and Monte dei Cappuccini are in this photo. Props if you can find them :)

Such a gorgeous place! On the top of the highest part of the hill is the Basilica of Superga, a beautiful church that contains many tombs of the royal Savoy family.

I love Italian architecture! Torino is known for their many porticos which were apparently built for the royal family so they could walk about the city no matter the weather.

This is Duomo di Torino where the famous Shroud of Turin is kept.

Palazzo Madama

This is one of my favorite buildings in Torino. It was originally a 15th-century castle (which you can see from the left side) that later several of the royal Italian women lived in, and of course, wanted to redecorate. However, only the front was completed, giving the palace simply a beautiful façade and leaving the back as it was. Such a unique building.

This is Mole, or more accurately Mole Antonelliana, a major landmark in Torino. It was originally built as a synagogue but now houses the National Cinema Museum, the tallest museum in the world. It was from the top of this building that I got to take the previous pictures of the city.

Basilica of Superga :)

TORINO AT NIGHT

Mole at night.

This night Silvia and her brother arranged a pizza night with some of their friends. It was as we were walking from the pizza place to get gelato (woohoo!) that we passed Mole. I stopped to take a picture and before I knew it, three of their friends (who live in Torino) had pulled out their phones to take pictures as well. At first I thought they were making fun of me for being such a tourist but then Silvia told me that people who live in Torino are very proud of their city and really appreciate it's beauty. I understand why.