Medieval Living

Besides the Mole Antonelliana, a popular focal point in Torino is Parco Valentino, a 136-acre preserve along the Po River, which begins in the Alps and drains across Northern Italy all the way to Venice and the Adriatic Sea. The park, a favorite with joggers, features botanical gardens and the “Borgo Medievale” or medieval village.

Established in 1856, the park was among the first public gardens in Italy. Cafes and revelers can be found at all hours of the day and night, though after dark the park can become a bit sketchy. The statues at the entrance to honor the “Alpini” troops, the Italian army’s light infantry mountain fighters, are intricate.

Constructed in 1884, the castle at Borgo Medievale was a featured attraction at the Turin Expo. With its picturesque setting along the Po River, the “castello” (above) rises above a small cluster of houses, faithful replicas of 15th century Italian buildings from Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, along with an elaborate botanical area.

A tour to the medieval village seemed well timed, since I was reading “The Saint and The Sultan,” a story about a meeting between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil, leader of the Muslim nation during the late middle ages. St. Francis was initially enamored with tales of chivalry and the prospect of knighthood as a young warrior.

Is chivalry dead? It would be for St. Francis, following his capture, imprisonment, ransom, and ultimately, his conversion. Disenchanted with war, he faced the even more daunting task of weathering ridicule and extreme cruelty from family and the public alike for choosing a new path of peace, love and understanding.

The village, though faux, seemed authentic; it had the look and feel of the kind of medieval Italian village that St. Francis may have visited. In the book, the humble friar is more than a lover of nature and animals, but also an agent of peace with the understanding that responding to violence with violence cannot succeed.