03-04 Torino, Italy and Fam Hist Expo

We went back to our hotel and to my surprise, the hotel had graciously brought up an extra mattress for me. The one we had was like a rock and Elder Walters, thinking of my comfort, asked if they could find a softer mattress as I had back problems. I am so grateful for my husband. We were able to tour all over Torino. It is in the Northern part of Italy. Founded in the 200 BC, the Taurine Celts lived here but were conquered by the Romans. Torino was in the middle of the political process that united Italy. We took pictures of Palazzo Reale. Here is the Royal Palace or the Parco La Mandria where the Dukes of Savoy and the Kings of Italy lived until 1865. We walked along the Portice Di Via Roma, a beautiful covered walk way that invited you into each little shop which are very elegant and trendy. It is the heart of Torino's shopping area. We walked into the Cathedral of San Giovanni (Duomo) and it was a beautiful church. The first place we saw was the Porta Palatina. It is only a shell of what it was in former times but Charlemagne stayed here in 773. In front are statues of Caesar and Agustus. We drove through town and came upon the Castello Del Valentino on the banks of the River Po. It was closed but I took pictures through a gate which had a colorful ornate rock drive way that went all the way up to the palace walk way. We had a delightful day and an elegant dinner at Mickey D's (Big Ha Ha).



















































































































































































































































































We were up by 6:00 AM to be on time to set up the computers at the Convention Center in Torino. A little background on the circumstances surrounding this Expo. Torino, Italy is the sister city to Salt Lake City, Utah. This year is the 150th year that Italy has celebrated their becoming a nation. They held a huge Exposition with all kinds of exhibits. Salt Lake City was asked to participate in any way they would like. The Chamber of Commerce chose to send an entertainment group which consisted of two Native American dancers from BYU and two western singers who sang all the old Western songs we grew up with like Roy Rodgers and Gene Autry. The other organization they chose was the Church's Family History Department.

This is where we came in. The Family History Consultants from the Torino and Milan Stakes donated their time and skills to help the participants at the fair learn how to sign up and use Family Search. Our only job was to set the computers up and watch them all day to make sure they were secured. We are happy to report that we did not lose one computer. While we were there, Brother Pasta, who is the Church's Public Relations man for all of Italy, presented a huge framed family history pedigree of the Malan Family, which happens to be the family history for Senator Malan from Torino. He and his family were here to see the entertainment which he loved. (Just a side note, Italy loves Country Western music). He also loved the family history that was done. His wife looked at the family search site and learned about the indexing projects needing to be done for Italy. She commented that she had never heard of the church and that she was so excited about the indexing. She wanted the whole town to start indexing. Senator Malan is the one who was instrumental in helping the church to allow missionaries into Torino. He is not a member of our faith, but we felt Heavenly Father was certainly inspiring him. It was a long but great day.