Vermouth was born in 1786 in Turin at the initiative of Antonio Benedetto Carpano who recovered the tradition of some friars from Biella to produce a wine flavored with herbs, for personal consumption.
Carpano had its business in the heart of Turin, under the porticoes of Piazza Castello, today at the foot of the Torre Littoria, the Reale Mutua skyscraper. They say that when king Vittorio Amedeo III tasted vermouth, he appreciated it and it entered immediately the cellar of the royal family. Then, in the early 19th century Piedmont, it becomes a luxury product to open the most exclusive dinners of the aristocracy. So frequenters of the bouvette, such as the Count of Cavour or Massimo d’Azeglio, contribute to its success.
With the remaking of via Roma, in the thirties, the shop disappeared definitively. Production remained in Turin at the plant in via Nizza until the 1990s, before moving to Milan with the transfer of the brand to the company F.lli Branca.
The classic vermouth is produced with white wine Moscato di Canelli, sugar, alcohol up to 16-18 degrees, spices and various aromas (wormwood, gentian, isoppo, anise, fennel), roots, bark or fruit peel, sometimes colored with caramel. This liqueur wine with a bitter taste can be obtained by cold maceration, hot infusion or distillation of herbs.
Vermouth is the aperitif par excellence in Turin and today it has been declared a traditional product.
In the Turin cafés, between six and seven o’clock, the “vermut” ceremony was an obligatory social appointment that harmonized the different social classes. For the young girls from a good family, led by their mothers, it represented a kind of initiation, a debut in the adult world.
Do you want to know more?Then book a guided tour of Turin in English
Vermouth in Turin
/in gastronomy /by AndreaVermouth was born in 1786 in Turin at the initiative of Antonio Benedetto Carpano who recovered the tradition of some friars from Biella to produce a wine flavored with herbs, for personal consumption.
Carpano had its business in the heart of Turin, under the porticoes of Piazza Castello, today at the foot of the Torre Littoria, the Reale Mutua skyscraper. They say that when king Vittorio Amedeo III tasted vermouth, he appreciated it and it entered immediately the cellar of the royal family. Then, in the early 19th century Piedmont, it becomes a luxury product to open the most exclusive dinners of the aristocracy. So frequenters of the bouvette, such as the Count of Cavour or Massimo d’Azeglio, contribute to its success.
With the remaking of via Roma, in the thirties, the shop disappeared definitively. Production remained in Turin at the plant in via Nizza until the 1990s, before moving to Milan with the transfer of the brand to the company F.lli Branca.
The classic vermouth is produced with white wine Moscato di Canelli, sugar, alcohol up to 16-18 degrees, spices and various aromas (wormwood, gentian, isoppo, anise, fennel), roots, bark or fruit peel, sometimes colored with caramel. This liqueur wine with a bitter taste can be obtained by cold maceration, hot infusion or distillation of herbs.
Vermouth is the aperitif par excellence in Turin and today it has been declared a traditional product.
In the Turin cafés, between six and seven o’clock, the “vermut” ceremony was an obligatory social appointment that harmonized the different social classes. For the young girls from a good family, led by their mothers, it represented a kind of initiation, a debut in the adult world.
Do you want to know more?Then book a guided tour of Turin in English
Palazzo Carignano
/in Must-see /by AndreaIn 1679 the prince Emanuele Filiberto of Carignan, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, commissioned the architect Guarino Guarini to design a new residence with a royal appearance in the centre of Turin. During the regency, in fact the prince had become a candidate for the succession to the throne. The palace which was probably inspired by the projects that Bernini had presented to Louis XIV for the Louvre is a challenge to the regularity of the urban system of Roman origin of Turin .
The architect conceived a curvilinear facade with an oval atrium in the center, closed between the two corner pavilions. The red-brick palazzo was constructed between 1679 and 1684
The surprising atrium that served as an entrance of honour also connected the princely apartments (summer and winter). The vault is based on a 8-pointed star, a recurring theme that can be seen as well as in the decorations of the walls closing the courtyard.
The rooms were richly decorated with gold leaf and frescoes by the painter Stefano Maria Legnani, known as Il Legnanino, who had already worked in the Chapel of the Merchants, with mythological scenes celebrating the glory of the prince of Carignan. The private apartment, where the first King of Italy Victor Emmanuel II was born, was later adapted to Prime Minister’s Cabinet Room.
A theatrical staircase with symmetrical ramps led to the main floor, ideally embracing the visitor. The alternate steps, concave and convex, produced an astonishing effect on guests who entered the ballroom.
When the Princes of Carignano took over the throne, their residence passed to the State to be converted into the first Italian parliament. Nowadays it houses the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento. By crossing the courtyard you reach piazza Carlo Alberto where the National Library was once the Carignano’s stables.
Do you want to know more?Then book a guided tour of Turin
A hanging garden on Turin’s iconic rooftop
/in contemporary art /by AndreaThe Fiat Lingotto plant was completed in 1923 based on Giacomo Matté Trucco’s design. The revolutionary architecture was inspired by the Fordist model whose rational production cycle had been observed by Giovanni Agnelli during his travels in the United States.
For the industrial area, abandoned in the 1980s, a reconversion to other uses was expected, as was the case in other European countries in those years. The Lingotto project immediately relies on the creation of a structure for tertiary activities on which the city of Turin was working for. Consequently, the aim was to transform the industrial plant into a modern space, in balance between the original identity and the flexibility of the new multifunctional centre housing the conference centre, the auditorium, a hotel and the commercial area.
Then the car testing track, located on the roof of the building, 28 meters above the ground, a symbol of Lingotto since the 1920s, today has become a space open to the public called Pista 500.
Designed by architect Benedetto Camerana, the track is a hanging garden with over 40,000 plants to illustrate Stellantis’ green mission. With pedestrian spaces, cycle paths and even a circuit for electric cars, the Pista 500 is above all an outdoor exhibition. The installations by internationally renowned artists ideally dialogue with the former factory and invite the public to reflect on the environmental, cultural and social issues.
Connected to the track are the Pinacoteca Agnelli, Casa Fiat and the Bolla.
Inside the futurist treasure chest designed by Renzo Piano, the Pinacoteca Agnelli houses the private art collection of Gianni and Marella Agnelli. Casa Fiat, through a dense museum itinerary, tells the history of the automotive company in relation to the city of Turin, dedicating a special page to the legendary car 500!
Finally, the Bolla which dominates the roof of the Lingotto is a prestigious meeting room equipped with an automated system of curtains capable of screening the sun by following its movement.
Do you want to know more? Then book a guided tour of MAUTO in Turin
Restoration of the Scurolo in Turin Cathedral
/in Must-see /by AndreaUntil the early nineteenth century, the large Guarini portal served as the backdrop to the choir of the Cathedral. For those who were in the cathedral they could see in perspective the altar with the reliquary surmounted by the golden rays and the chapel naturally illuminated from the conical-pyramid shaped dome. In 1825 this sequence of spaces was strongly modified by the construction of a glass window commissioned by King Carlo Felice to protect the chapel from the cold and noise coming from the church below.
It was created in neoclassical style, elegant and essential, by the royal architect Carlo Randoni as if it were a large glass panel, with wooden and gilded iron frames. Then Guarini’s project based on the spatial continuity of the two environments was partly disregarded.
Luckily recent renovations have restored the area below to its original splendour. The so-called scurolo, the dimly lit room which supports the chapel of the Shroud, represents the connection between the baroque chapel and the pre-existing Renaissance structure. Behind the main altar, you can see again a choir of musician angels painted by Domenico Guidobono in 1709. The arch marked by marble columns was the entrance to the scurolo, used in addition to the sacristy for dressing during large ceremonies or storing sacred furnishings.
Do you want to know more?Then book a guided tour of Turin
Turin Royal Zoological Garden
/in Must-see /by AndreaTurin, having become the capital of Italy, regained the old splendor. As the rulers of the main European capitals had done, king Victor Emmanuel II, notoriously passionate about animals, also decided to create a zoo.
The idea probably came from the arrival of some pygmy goats and antelopes gifted from Egypt. Pagodas and buildings in Moorish style were thus built in the lower gardens of the Royal Palace to recall the exotic character of the animals housed and communicate to the visitor an idea of the rare and distant.
The economic effort was notable despite the difficult economic moment of the State and the subsequent transfer of the court. Around 1874, the zoo can be said to be completed. There were among others elephants, giraffes, lions, bears and wolves. The animals were purchased directly in their countries of origin or they could be gifts from rulers or important people. For example, in a letter, king Victor Emmanuel II thanked his daughter Maria Clotilde, wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, for having given him some kangaroos.
Entrance, which was free, after leaving your personal details in a special register, took place from Corso San Maurizio.
Do you want to know more? Then book a private tour of Turin Royal Palace
Torta Novecento and Ivrea
/in gastronomy /by AndreaIf you visit Ivrea-recentlty recognized by Unesco as the ideal industrial city of the 20th Century– you should try the local specialities too.
Torta Novecento is a cake made of two layers of very soft cocoa chocolate sponge and filled with a very delicate chocolate cream.
Salmorejo with edible flowers
/in gastronomy /by AndreaSalmorejo is a typical cold soup from Andalusia made with fresh and ripe tomatoes, bread, garlic, vinegar, salt and extra virgin olive oil.
This creamy soup, in the Turinese restaurant Luogo Divino‘s version, is made with cherries and garnished with edible flowers.
Colomares castle, Benalmádena (Málaga)
/in contemporary art /by AndreaThe castle was built in the late eighties (XXth century) by Dr Esteban Martín to honour the life and adventures of Christopher Colombus.
This fairy-tale castle is a unique combination of architectural styles which had a marked effect on Spanish culture: Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic and Mudejar.
The House of the Dragons, Ceuta
/in contemporary art /by AndreaHistorical building (19th century), in the Spanish enclave on the north coast of Africa, in Morocco.
The eclectic building was designed by the Valencian architect Pérez who embellished the roof with bronze dragons.
Torta inglesa
/in gastronomy /by AndreaThe Torta Inglesa (the English cake) is a typical sweet cake from Carmona (Seville) made with sponge cake, puff pastry and spaghetti squash jam, cabello de ángel. Locals consider Las Delicias (Chamorro, 12) to have the best cakes in the city.