A little bit of Po
Publish date 14-11-2022
Icon and memory of a city
In the absence of the sea in Turin we have the Po river which, together with the Dora, remind us that we in Turin can do without the seafront.
The Lungo Po is no less formidable than the Lungo Senna or Lungo Tevere: the Turin river, even more, has always been the clay pot where the roots of the former industrial city and its famous hill above quench their thirst. Fortunately, in the last century this river walk was portrayed by M. Antonioni in Amiche, without forgetting the first shot that opens Profumo di donna by Dino Risi: but what would he say today, seeing it so dry, the austere and melancholy gaze of Cesare Pavese?
To me too, as to all the Turinese, to observe him in this desolating state is sad, because probably the arid vision pollutes our certainties, our youthful memories. The walks with the first girlfriend, and the evenings of San Lorenzo with the city gathered around the river, to see the Antonelliana mass reflected on the running water in the middle of the fireworks.
Here, this is a clear sign of the ongoing climate change. They are stigmata that hurt, we must not accept that they become irreversible. My hope is that in the future Turin will not turn into a replica of Cairo, it doesn't matter if the view of the pyramids is missing to confirm it ... true, we already have the Egyptian Museum! All we needed was the heat of the desert to complete this surreal postcard.
Luca Periotto
NP Agosto-Settembre 2022