TURIN. «Elizabeth II today in Turin»: the opening title of Evening print Tuesday 9 – Wednesday 10 May 1961, the afternoon edition of this newspaper anticipates the historic visit to Turin of the Queen of Great Britain on the centenary of the unification of Italy. She is 34 years old and she has been on the Windsor throne for 9 years.
The chronicles recall the arrival by train at the Porta Nuova station crowded with crowds: “There were children and adults even above the platforms”. The procession along Via Roma with sixteen cars “between two thick wings of the public cheering and waving flags”. And again “a woman who faints in the crowd.”
The visit continues with a reception at Palazzo Madama, where the mayor Amedeo Peyron awaits him, who welcomes the Queen with these words: “It was your sensitivity to understand that you could not come to Italy in 1961 without visiting Turin, the city of the Risorgimento” . Elizabeth II’s response was not long in coming: “It is a particular pleasure to be in this historic city on the centenary of Italian independence and unity”.
La Stampa Evening of Tuesday 9 May – Wednesday 10 May 1961
Then the visit to the Historical Exhibition at Palazzo Carignano, where the Queen lingers among “relics of our Risorgimento: the door of the prison of Silvio Pellico at the Spielberg, the saddle of Garibaldi, a book that collects the letters of Gladstone, a portrait of Palmerston , a painting that portrays Anita Garibaldi dying ». The head of the ceremonial, the Marquis Fracassi, nervously consults the clock: “more than five minutes had been lost at Palazzo Madama, and the time threatened to be upset.”
The visit continues with a stop at the International Labor Exhibition »where Gianni Agnelli does the honors of the house. Tea will follow in the castle of the “La Mandria” estate, guests of the Marquis Medici del Vascello, “where Prince Philip came hunting last autumn”. Finally, the farewell and departure at 20 from Caselle airport.
Elizabeth II and Philip of Edinburgh visit the Palazzo del Lavoro, accompanied by Giovanni Agnelli (right) and Ambassador Giustino Arpesani
The chronicles of the time from the historical archive of La Stampa