Introducing Turin

With its fortunes allied to the automobile, Turin is to Italy, what Detroit is to America. Innovative, proud, and tough, Turin marries a robust industrial economy with a rich, ancient culture and a gorgeous natural setting. Nestling at the foot of the Alps, Turin played host to the Winter Olympics in 2006. The ‘Olympic effect’ can be seen in the widespread restoration of historic palaces, churches, and squares, not to mention fantastic new sporting facilities that have sprung up around the city. Within easy reach, fantastic skiing and an array of adrenaline-infused winter sports are on offer, without the crowds of Turin’s Alpine siblings.
For all its glories, most tourists tend to give Turin the slip and head instead for the more natural beauty of the Piedmont region or to the storied attractions of Turin’s northwestern neighbors, Milan and Verona. But Italy’s fourth-largest city has a lot going for it. Turin’s ancient history is revealed at every turn. The best place to start is the Old Town, where the cobblestone streets of the Quadrilateral Romano are lined with Baroque palaces (many now house decent museums) and some of the city’s most historic cafés. Everywhere you look it seems like there is a chunk of Roman ruin. The Duomo de San Giovaani, Turin’s rather austere 14th-century cathedral, was built atop the ruins of a Roman theater. The church’s claim to fame is that it houses the mythical ‘Shroud of Turin’—the purported cloth in which Jesus’ body was enshrouded after his death. The Old Town’s ancient streets may be immediately recognizable; they provided the thrill-a-minute backdrop to one of the most iconic car chases in movie history: the 1969 classic, The Italian Job. The Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile pays fitting tribute to the automobile, with a wonderful collection of antique cars displayed alongside flashy Italian sports cars.

Airports within a 10-mile radius of Turnin:

  • Aeritalia Airport (LMA)
    • Torino Airport (TRN)

Popular aircraft charters* in the Turin area include:

  • Citation Excel (super light)
  • Learjet 45 XR (super light)
  • Citation CJ3 (light)
  • Learjet 31ER 400A (light)
  • Learjet 60 XR (midsize)
  • Citation III (midsize)
  • Gulfstream G200 (super midsize)
  • Citation Sovereign (super midsize)

*This is just a sample. Zephyr provides access to aircraft at every end of the spectrum, from luxurious VIP airliners, to ultra long range business jet, helicopters, and economical turboprops.