For the best experience with monocle. Last weekend was spent in Turin. A very soggy Turin. Low-slung clouds smudged the view and the rain was as persistent as a debt collector. But to hell with the weather — what a nice city Turin is. And one at odds with its reputation. Turin is always cast as a grim industrial outpost; somewhere, you imagine, that has smokestacks and mineshafts to be found in the heart of the city.
But the home of Fiat and Lavazza, Pininfarina and Superga — yes, this is an industrial city — is also handsome, cultured and packed with great architecture and numerous universities. I was in town because I was giving a talk at Utopian Hours, an event run by Torino Stratosferica and — more importantly — Luca Ballarini and Giacomo Biraghi, two bearded passionate city enthusiasts who look like brothers but insist that they are not.
He meant speakers; I meant in the audience. It soon transpired that this was less a conference, more a festival. They had 4, people registered and many more just turned up on the day of the event, which was held at the gleaming Lavazza HQ.
At least I had until Sunday evening for my slot; time to make any quick changes to the presentation — or dash back to the airport. And most times I am happy with the outcome. But sometimes I can feel the nerves, especially before I start. So I have learned how to increase my chances of success: handheld mic not a Madonna headset, find a few warm faces in the audience and never look twice at the guy texting, wear nice socks, never use notes, slow down and remember that everyone is on your side — they want to have a good time too.
And I have also come to realise that super polished Ted Talk-style speakers are a bit annoying. On the Saturday afternoon, Patrik Gustavsson, managing director of Fonden Amager Bakke, talked about pulling together the team that built Copenhill, the new Big architects waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen with a ski slope on its roof.
