experience: COFFEEHOUSES OF TURIN

THIS PAGE: The perfect cappuccino; OPPOSITE: Elaborate chandeliers are par for the course in Turin’s grand cafés.

TURINA gilt trip through lavish cafés

The birthplace of breadsticks, vermouth andchocolate gianduja, Turin, Italy offers food fiendsa wealth of finds. Sample them all in the city’sopulent cafés, where bicerins and pasticceria seccaare served with a demitasse of history.BY RAQUEL PELZEL PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARYLOU CROWLEY

Intermezzo 25

TURIN MAY NOT BE KNOWN

for romance like Venice or ruins like

Rome, but what she is known and loved

for is what keeps me going every day—

coffee and chocolate. For a caffeine

addict like myself, Turin is a dream come

true. Here, drinking coffee—made with

or without chocolate—is an art form,

served up by tuxedoed waiters and on

silver platters in some of the most lavish,

decadent spaces imaginable. Turin’s cafés

offer enough history-steeped ambience

to justify spending an entire afternoon in

coffee-assisted contemplation. If you’re

the type of person who likes to immerse

yourself in atmosphere thick with style,

good food and drink, heed my warning:

you may never want to leave Turin.

The automotive capital of Italy and the

home of Fiat, Turin doesn’t rank high

on most travelers’ must-see list. Its gritty

and urban atmosphere keeps most of the

boot’s “big three”(Rome,Venice, Florence)

tourists happily away. Those who persevere

and succeed in cracking through Turin’s

industrial façade will discover doors that

open to an eclectic world of culture,

cuisine and amazing cappuccinos.

Turin’s cafés have been thriving for

centuries as welcome havens for royals

and artists, factory workers and leftist

thinkers. Amidst marble and bronze,

massive chandeliers, frescoes, etched

glass, velvet settees and high-backed

chairs, some of the world’s most intense

THIS PAGE, LEFT: A couple drinking bicerins at Al Bicerin; TOP RIGHT: Caffè Platti’s honey glazed chestnuts.

26 Intermezzo

intellectuals, like Nietzsche, Garibaldi

and Cavour, plotted philosophical argu-

ments and revolutionary tactics, all while

sipping a cappuccino or a bicerin.

A centuries-old coffee concoction and

the signature drink of Turin, the bicerin

is a highly secretive chocolate mixture

cooked stovetop for up to four hours,

and then blended with espresso. Served

in a glass mug, it can be topped with

gossamer crema or with a dollop of

whipped cream. Al Bicerin, Turin’s oldest

café, is where the drink was invented

some two centuries ago, and where the

recipe has never, ever changed.

Opened in 1763, Al Bicerin is located

across from the Santuario della Consolata,

one of Turin’s most exquisite churches

(don’t discount the structure upon first

sight—it doesn’t look like much, but

inside, it’s magnificent). The drink was

apparently created to nourish commun-

ion-fasting churchgoers who came in after

services. Though their café was also fre-

quented by nobility, the owners decided to

keep the price of a bicerin set, so regulars

as well as royals could afford this regal

treat. A testament to the accessibility of the

café, the price of the bicerin didn’t increase

until the early 1900s.

Low ceilings, wood paneling, velvet

banquettes and candles lit on small

marble tables (even in the daytime)

contribute to Al Bicerin’s eighteenth-

century charm. Some of its more

notable patrons of the past include

Alexandre Dumas and Giacomo Puccini,

who based La Bohème on the nearby

artists’ garret off Via San Agostino where

he lived. Turin is also where zabaione

was first created, and Al Bicerin makes

theirs whipped by hand and to order,

laced with Piedmontese liqueurs and

wines like ratafià, passito or Moscato.

Though Alexandre Dumas enjoyed

his bicerins at Al Bicerin, he purportedly

sipped his first at the Caffè San Carlo. I

nearly nixed the café from my list due to

its bland exterior. But as a couple brushed

past me on their way out the door, I caught

a peek inside as the door slowly shut.

To Al Bicerin’s soft-lit surrounds,

the San Carlo counters with grandeur

and gold leaf. With gilt columns, a mas-

sive Murano glass chandelier, statues,

frescoes and mirrors galore, the café’s

interior is jaw dropping. Opened in 1822,

the San Carlo was known as a meeting

place for supporters of the Risorgimento,

the movement to unify Italy. During the

Risorgimento (which spanned decades

until Italy was united in 1861), the San

Carlo was closed down many times due

to the activities of its rebellious clientele.

A lot of the San Carlo’s original artwork

miraculously survived World War II

bombings, much of it in a special room

called the Japanese cabinet.

One of the first gas-lit coffeehouses in

Europe, the Caffè San Carlo is one of the

Intermezzo 27

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A busy lunchtime at Baratti & Milano; adding the finishing touch to a bicerin; theCaffè San Carlo’s lavish interior; a taste of what awaits you at the counter of Baratti & Milano.

few places where you can sit and revel in

lavishness while eating a gelato (try the

hazelnut-chocolate gianduja flavor) from

an outpost of the legendary Fiorio gelat-

teria next door. The original Fiorio on

the Via Po was so popular among the

opinionated Torinese that during his

reign in the 1830s and 1840s, King Carlo

Alberto used Fiorio rumor briefings as

a way to keep abreast of social opinion.

If you really want to feel like a local, visit

Fiorio on the Via Po on a weekend well

after midnight and stroll along the

avenue with a gelato in hand—I guaran-

tee you that you won’t be the only one.

In the same piazza as the Caffè San

Carlo is the Caffè Torino. At only 102

years old, it’s a relative newcomer to

Turin’s thriving café scene, yet after

one visit you’ll wonder how the nine-

teenth century did without this bustling,

hobnobbing apex of culture and taste.

Famous for its coffee and cocktails, the

Torino is a worthy spot for a late after-

noon Negroni. A generous selection

of complimentary cocktail snacks, like

prosciutto-wrapped melon, ham-filled

aroncini, cornichons, sausages and

frittatas are offered tapas-style.

Known for its Baroque revival décor,

the café is swathed in gold and fuchsia

fabric. Crystal chandeliers, a ceiling of

gold-plated stuccowork and gilt friezes

make the room sparkle like metallic-

wrapped candy. The café is lauded for its

30 Intermezzo

THIS PAGE: Turin is the birthplace of grissini breadsticks (left) and gianduja, which can be made into the most delicious cakesand confections, like they do at the Peyrano bakery (right).

Intermezzo 31

holiday confections, especially its hand-

crafted artisanal Easter eggs. Pralinera,

petits fours, candied orange peel and

pasticceria secca all beckon from a glass

showcase—if they’re just too tempting

to resist, sit and enjoy a sweet, an espres-

so or something from the restaurant’s

menu, most of which are presented with

original utensils and serving ware made

from silver-plated britannia metal, an

alloy similar to pewter.

The best cappuccino I experienced,

hands down, goes to Baratti & Milano in

the Piazza Castello. Thick with steamed

whole milk and topped with a cumulous

shift of crema, this is what a real cappuc-

cino is all about. Founded in 1873, the

confectionery room is a sight to behold—

the best views being when you look up

at the truly stunning ceiling fresco and

down at the intricate marble floor. If

you make the mistake of leaving Turin

without a few boxes of Baratti & Milano

gianduja and chocolates, fear not—you

can buy them in the duty-free shop at

the airport in Milan.

Separated from Baratti & Milano by

the vast Teatro Regio, one of Turin’s won-

drous concert halls, is Mulassano, my

favorite café in all of Turin. With only

five indoor tables, the teeny café exudes

clubby atmosphere. Once frequented by

royals, silent film starlets, directors and

singers, this is where the “toast” and

tramezzino were born—the former being

a crispy-tender grilled and pressed sand-

wich, the latter being a crustless, non-

toasted and triangular shaped one.

Intricately carved woodwork laces

the interior, twists around clocks and

transforms itself into lilting leaves and

bunches of grapes around moldings.

The ceiling, made from deep brown

squares of embossed Madeira leather,

resembles an expansive bittersweet

chocolate bar, an appropriate backdrop

for finishing off one of Mulassano’s

famous cioccolati, a thick pudding-like

cup of super hot, hot chocolate that’s so

dense, it’s best eaten with a spoon.

Near the Porta Nuova and my hotel was

the café that I visited most often, the Platti

on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Opened

in 1870, this café is known for their Platti

cake made of ganache, angel food cake and

gianduja cream. I can also attest to their

solid selection of morning pastries and

savories. To stand at the coffee bar mid-

morning, down an espresso or three, nibble

on a croissant marmellata, partake in the

communally available oysters on the half

shell and chase it all down with a fresh

strawberry-swirled Prosecco, well, is to

be that much closer to heaven on earth.

With the winter Olympics scheduled

in Turin for 2006, it’s best to plan your

trip now, before lines and English menus

riddle the city’s wide, tree-lined boule-

vards. Go to a café, order a bicerin, eat

lots of gianduja and enjoy the gilt trip.

THIS PAGE: Sweets to take home from Al Bicerin include chocolate pasta and tins of unsweetened cocoa; the inside of the decadently appointed Caffè Torino; amaretti cookies at the Avvignano confectionery; trays of bicerins go to thirsty patrons outside.

THIS PAGE: Thick with steamed whole milk and topped with a cumulous shift of crema, this is what a real cappuccino is all about.

Intermezzo 33

From Turin, with Love

GiandujaChocolate made from toasted hazelnuts

and cocoa; named after a carnival mask

worn to symbolize a Piemontese wine-

loving peasant.

GrissiniLong, thin breadsticks; legend has it

they were first made by a Savoy court

baker for the young and ailing Duke of

Savoy, who suffered from frequent food

poisoning. It was thought that if bread

baked long enough, it would not har-

bor bacteria. Napoleon was apparently

a big fan of the crisp breadsticks, and

nicknamed them le petits bâtons de

Turin.

VermouthAn infusion made from white wine,

sugar and more than forty kinds of

herbs and spices; invented by Antonio

Benedetto Carpano in Turin at a liquor

shop on the Piazza Castello in 1786.

Major producers like Martini & Rossi,

Cinzano and Gancia all were based in

Piedmont.

34 Intermezzo

THIS PAGE, LEFT: A Campari cocktail served outside the Caffè Torino; TOP RIGHT: Hand-wrapping gianduiotto chocolates at Peyrano.

Affection for Confections

StrattaNearly as fabulous as the cafés are Turin’s decadently appointed confectionery

shops. At the Piazza San Carlo, opposite from the Caffè San Carlo and the Caffè

Torino is Stratta, former official purveyor to the royal household. The storefront

dates from 1833 and is made from cherry and walnut wood; inside, a coat of arms,

decoupage ceiling, a multitude of mirrors and a Murano glass chandelier all convey

its privileged stature. Stratta’s artful boxes are worth collecting—each one is topped

with replications of theater posters past.

Piazza San Carlo 191

AvvignanoThough the space dates to 1883, Avvignano, located within the roundabout of the

Piazza Carlo Felice (just across from the Porta Nuova train station), was trans-

formed from a liquor shop to the sweets shop that it is today in 1922. Step inside

and be swept away by the thrilling scent of sugar in all forms, from pastilles and

gianduiotti candies to glorious droneresi meringue bonbons filled with rum-spiked

chocolate.

Piazza Carlo Felice 50

PeyranoA block and a half from Platti is the minimally designed chocolate shop Peyrano,

where the focus is not on décor, but instead on the sprawling display case of bon-

bons and sweets. Founded in 1915, cacao beans are still roasted, ground, refined and

turned into chocolate in the original workshop on the Corso Moncalieri across the

River Po. Bitter chocolate accented by grappa and gorgeous chocolate-dipped goose-

berries are just two of the many sweets to try and to take home.

Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 76

Intermezzo 35

THIS PAGE: The Murano glass chandelier at Caffè San Carlo; art boxes and gianduja sauce at Stratta; gianduja chocolates at CaffèPlatti; a cake at Al Bicerin mimics the flavors in the drink—chocolate and espresso cake, white chocolate icing and whipped cream.

The Cafés of Turin

Al Bicerin: Piazza della Consolata 5

Baratti & Milano: Piazza Castello 29

Caffè San Carlo: Piazza San Carlo 156

Caffè Torino: Piazza San Carlo 204

Fiorio: Via Po 8

Mulassano: Piazza Castello 15

Platti: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 72