Open most guide books on Italy and you will probably do well to find one page on Turin. Usually overlooked because of its association with industry and the manufacturing of cars – considered a sort of Dagenham near the Alps – the city is without doubt a hidden treasure.
Ask any true Britain what he associates with Turin and he might well say, ‘The Italian Job’.
Swinging Back to The Sixties
The classic Michael Caine film was made in Turin in 1968 and came to epitomise 1960s Britishness – laddish, politically incorrect and cheeky. Well, to continue adding fuel to the obsession of the movie, a tour is now operating that visits all the locations used in Turin, bringing to life the spirit of the whole adventure.
The tour is run by ex-pat husband and wife Richard and Ula Edwards, who have lived in Turin for two years. ‘We first visited Turin 10 years ago and were so impressed,’ says Richard. ‘The rich architecture on its straight streets and a feeling that we were the first foreigners to walk its marble pavements. It felt a really unique place. We asked our guide, an Italian friend Gabriella, if she knew any of the places where The Italian Job was made.’
‘The Italian what?’ she replied.
‘It soon became clear that no one here had heard of it. We managed to spot a few places that we thought might have been in the film but that was it.’
Locating the Locations
Eight years later, after a few more visits and growing ever fonder of Italy and particularly Turin, the family decided to move there. Within seven months of that decision they were making the 1000-mile journey to a new home under the shadow of the Alps.
‘Soon after we moved we watched the film with our Italian friends and they identified some of the places. We were so excited to visit the locations and were sure many others would want to come and enjoy it too,’ says Richard, ‘so we decided to make a tour’.
After months of preparation, including finding all the locations and buying the classic Mini, the tour was up together. ‘It was great fun but hard work. Many of the locations required real local knowledge to find and some proved very elusive, but we persisted.’
Instant Success
Three days after their web site went live, the first booking came and they have not stopped since. ‘We try to do all we can for people when they come,’ says Ula. ‘We arrange to pick people up from the airport in the Mini if they wish and drive them to their hotel. We have had really positive comments from everyone. They love it. We get all kinds of people from all age groups.’
Something incredible about the film is how the producers managed to get permission to drive three Mini Coopers over what are clearly national art treasures! This was in no small part due to the assistance of FIAT founder, Gianni Agnelli.
Turin was a company town and Agnelli was right at the top. He offered his help and said that if they used Fiat 500s instead of Minis they could have as many cars as they wanted (British Leyland offered no Minis for free).
The producer reluctantly refused but still Agnelli gave his full support. Incredible when you realise the film made heroes of a bunch of laddish Englishmen having a go at the Italians, and made the Mini a modern day icon.
Friends in High Places
To make The Italian Job Tour a real success, the help of Italy’s most powerful dynasty, the Agnelli family, was needed again. One of the stunts, probably the most dangerous, was the roof jump. This was filmed inside FIAT’s Mirafiori factory, a place not open to the public.
The Italian Job Tour approached John Elkann, the bright and enthusiastic grandson of Gianni for assistance. He gave us full support. ‘We couldn’t have been more pleased,’ said Richard. There are two separate tours – The Mini Tour explores the locations around the city including the river crossing, church steps, where the gold was loaded, a tour of the Fiat factory and much more.
There is also an Alps Tour which visits the location of the most famous of film endings – the bus hanging over the cliff edge, where Michael Caine utters those immortal words ‘Hang on a minute lads, I’ve got a great idea.’ We never did get to know what his great idea was, but what we do know is that The Italian Job has survived more than 35 years and is probably more popular now that it ever was, with new generations tuning in to its brilliance and unique British humour.
Turin Revival
And Turin? Well, with Fiat’s survival constantly under threat it is in the process of reinventing itself. With the winter Olympics coming in 2006, the whole city underwent major renovation.
It is a city that has a huge amount to offer. Those who dare to stray from the beaten track of visiting Florence, Rome and Milan are rewarded and left feeling they know a little more about Italy than those that have followed the path of your average visitor to this great country.
You might not drive away with $4 million dollars’ worth of gold through a traffic jam but you will be enriched by the experience and proud you did the real Italian Job!
