Mountain House man reflects on life in Turin

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Feb 10, 2006 | by Mike Martinez MOUNTAIN HOUSE , STAFF WRITER

PAOLO GIUSTO remembers his father coming home from work at the Fiat factory in his hometown and taking a nap before accompanying his son to a nearby park for a late afternoon soccer game.

He remembers the giant ski resort, the Via Lattea, or the Milky Way in English, he couldnt afford to ski at until he was about to move away for college. And who could ever forget the espresso beans. Ive been essentially breathing automobiles, espresso and soccer my whole life, said Giusto, an engineering consultant with General Motors.

Giusto, who moved to Mountain House in 2004, was born and raised in Turin, Italy, which is home to this years Winter Olympics and brings with it an international spotlight he thinks his home town is ready for.

Hes proud to talk about the things many people have passed on visiting during trips to Italy where most tourists would rather visit Florence or Rome.

Before coming to the United States in 1992 to attend University of California, Berkeley,Giusto said he never noticed the historic structures the Romans erected 2,000 years ago, or the ones the French built in the Napoleonic era.

He said the worlds third best Egyptian museum, behind ones in Cairo and London, is located in his hometown. The town is probably best known for the Shroud -- the cloth with an image of Jesus burned into it before he ascended into heaven -- thats brought out once every 20 years.

I talked to my sister last night and she sent me some pictures, my God, its a beautiful town, Giusto said. I never realized it. When you live there, its just like here; who notices the Golden Gate Bridge every day.

Both his parents and his sister still live there, as do all of his aunts, uncles and cousins. Its his heritage and he expects to visit them in the early summer with an ulterior motive. He wants to watch a World Cup soccer match in Germany.

Torino is going through a big change, opening up to the outside world, he said. For a long time, Torino has been a self-sustaining city. Everybody used to work for Fiat. Now they have been finding other ways for sources of income.

Overall I think its a unique chance for my hometown to become known within the tourist circuit like Florence and Rome. Nobody goes to Torino. This is going to be different.

Mike Martinez can be reached at (209) 832-3947 or at mmartinez@trivalleyherald.com.