Episode 226 transcript - Discover Turin - The Local's Guide to Must-See Sights and Experiences

Untold Italy Episode 226: Discover Turin - The Local's

Guide to Must-See Sights and Experiences

This is the Untold Italy Travel podcast, and you're listening to episode number 226.

Ciao a tutti and Benvenuti to Untold Italy, the travel podcast, where you go to the towns and

villages, mountains and lakes, hills and coastlines of Bella Italia. Each week your host Katy

Clarke takes you on a journey in search of magical landscapes of history, culture, wine,

gelato, and, of course, a whole lot of pasta. If you're dreaming of Italy and planning future

adventures there, you've come to the right place.

Katy

Ciao a tutti and welcome to a very special episode of Untold Italy. Today we’re going to take

a trip to Turin with our friend Olivia and Andrea from Italian Wine Tales. This episode is airing

a little before a very special day for them and the next chapter in a lifelong adventure that

started in the city that we’re talking about today - Turin, or Torino as it is called in Italian.

I’ve noticed a lot more questions and interest in this beautiful northern city and I thought

who better to tell you about it than our friends - one of whom was born there and lived most

of his life there and someone who adopted the city and I guess was adopted by it too in a

difficult time but somehow there was a spark that led to some amazing things. I cant wait for

you to hear about lovely Turin and all the reasons why you should go there from there so let’s

jump in.

Katy

Bentornati Liv and Andrea. Ciao, and welcome back to the Untold Italy podcast. I hope you've

been keeping well.

Olivia

Ciao.

Andrea

Ciao Katy.

Olivia

Buongiorno. Yes, very well.

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Andrea

Quite good.

Olivia

We're just back from a trip to Torino, actually.

Andrea

Yes.

Katy

I know. And it's not long now until there's a very special day on the horizon for you both. Do

you mind sharing what's coming up and a little bit about yourselves and what you do in

general?

Olivia

So Katy is, of course, talking about our upcoming wedding, which is on the 8th June, so yes,

not too far away in beautiful Umbria, actually.

Andrea

In Gubbio.

Olivia

In beautiful Gubbio. But just to introduce ourselves. So I'm Olivia. I'm an Australian. As you

can hear from my accent, I thought I was going to live in Italy for a year. Five years later, fast

forward. I met Andrea during that first year and fell in love with the country and just kind of

never looked back. And together we run a wine website called Italian Wine Tales, where, you

know, we try and educate people all about the wonderful world of Italian wine. And, yeah,

we were living in Turin for, I mean, Andrea's from Turin, he'll tell you that next. But we were

living there for a while. And, yeah, we moved down to Rome about two years ago, and now

we're getting married in Umbria, so kind of somewhere in between.

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Andrea

And I'm Andrea. I was born and raised in Torino until I met Olivia. We lived there together for

a bit, and now we're living in Rome. I am taking the sommelier course with Liv so that we can

explore more about the italian wine world. And we try to share our passion and our

knowledge with the people that follow us and that share this passion with us.

Katy

Yeah. Amazing. Now, of course, Liv is also a very big part of the Untold Italy team and a very,

very important part of it. And though we do usually have you on the podcast to talk about

wine, but today I thought to celebrate your upcoming marriage, that we could share the city

of love, the beautiful city of Turin, where you met and spent the first years of your

relationship together with our friends on the podcast. So how does that sound?

Olivia

Oh, sounds like a plan.

Andrea

Beautiful.

Olivia

Back to the beginning.

Katy

Fantastic. Great. Because I've actually noticed a huge increase in interest about your

hometown, Andrea. And, you know, Liv, as you mentioned, you were there just last weekend

hosting our tour there. So I think we're truly ready to show the love for Torino. And I think

people are ready to hear it because it's one of those cities that flies under the radar and it's

like why? It's so easy to get to. It's so beautiful. So, Andrea, as you're the local, why don't you

pick things off and let everyone know where Turin is and why it's such an important city in

Italy.

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Andrea

My pleasure. So Turin, it's in northwest of the country. So imagine north of Rome and Florence

and west of Venice and Milan. You will find it right there near the alps. It's bordering with

France on the west and Switzerland on the north. So it's not on the sea, it's close to the

mountains. And it's a, I would say little, but not too little, charming town. It's one of the

biggest towns in Italy, really. But for Australian or American standards appear quite small.

Around 1 million people live there.

Andrea

It's important in Italy because of its historical value. It was the first capital of Italy back in

the 19th century, and it grew and grew and grew more till to this day, with its economy. And a

lot of people emigrated there, especially after World War Two, for working reason, we had

the Fiat, which we might know for cars that are being produced, like this infamous

Cinquecento, the Fiat 500 was produced there. And nowadays, as you said, it flies a bit under

the radar when it comes to tourism. So of course, everyone goes to Venice, to Rome, to

Naples or to Milan. And not many people go to Turin, which is totally fine because the

Torinese people like it that way.

Andrea

To be honest, when you go and visit Venice and Florence, you fall in love with them because

they are beautiful and they're charming. Turin, it's beautiful because often when I met

foreigners there, or tourists, they go there without expecting much, and they are taken aback

by what's there to see and like the style. And it's often said that it's the most elegant town in

Italy, which I'm a bit biased, so I will not say whether it's true or not, but come and see it for

yourself because I feel it's worth a visit for sure.

Katy

It is so pretty. And for me, and being Australian, and I don't know how you felt about this Liv

when you first arrived, but having those mountains with the snow caps on the top in the

background, it's a little bit of a wow moment because we certainly don't have that at all

where we're from. And it's just very pretty.

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Olivia

It's so different. Yeah. Seeing the Alps, especially on a clear day when they don't have the

famous Torinese, Nebbia or fog, it's breathtaking having the Alps in the background, it really

is.

Katy

And so you mentioned, Andrea, that it was the first capital of Italy, but it's had a lot of royal

past as well, and that's really shaped the architecture and the style of the city, hasn't it?

Andrea

Yes, you are correct, because the history of Turin in general, it's linked with the royal house

of Savoy, which was the royal house where the kings came from, which unified Italy in 1861.

But before that, for centuries and centuries, they ruled over Turin and Piedmont in general,

the region where Turin is, where Turin is the capital and parts of France as well. So it's

elegant. And we have royal palaces because of that, because the king used to reside in there.

And so we have a lot of royal palaces both in Torino and around the outskirts of the city.

There are a lot of beautiful palaces. You will find, for example, that the style, baroque style

of Turin might resemble a bit the French one because of the closeness of the two countries

and because there was a lot of French influence in the region due to the proximity of it. So if

you like French style, come and see, enjoy. But never say to the people in Turin that it

reminds you of France because people in Turin would not appreciate it because of past

history.

Katy

Yes, they're very Italian, or no, really, more Torinese. Like, it's. So Italy is such a young

country. It's hard to explain that to people when, you know, I think, oh, Italy, we've got a

familiar shape of the boot and, and all of that, but it's very, very new. And, you know, like the

ancient history is. It's like hundreds, centuries and centuries of being very localized. So that's

what I love about it because, you know, we can be talking about Puglia 1 minute and have,

like, it's a completely. It's completely different to Piedmont and Turin. I love it, and I love. I

love the vibe of Turin. So what do you think? It's a vibe.

Andrea

It's hard for me to describe because I've been living there. Maybe you see it from the outside.

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Olivia

I think it's so elegant and sophisticated. Sophisticated. It feels very grown up. When I first

moved to Italy, I was in Bologna, which is a really fun and friendly university town. And then

afterwards I went up to Turin and it immediately felt more grown up, sophisticated, you

know. Beautiful fashion. You know, we're only an hour from Milan in Turin, so it's very stylish.

Yeah, that's kind of the vibe, I would say. And they've got these something I noticed when I

went back this recent trip that some of our guests were really noticing too is they've got this

fascination with neon as well. Neon signs like the Martini sign lit up and there's lots of other

neon kind of pops of color that really are quite striking in between these beautiful historic

buildings. Historic buildings and covered galleries and... Yeah, I love the vibe of Turin. It feels

very elegant, a little bit Parisian, but not Paris, if you know what I mean.

Katy

The sense that I got there was actually quite more open than a lot of the other cities. So you

don't have those very small, apart from in the old town, you have the more wider boulevards.

Andrea

That's true. You're right. Now that I think - you're right. There are a lot of places in Italy

where you have like the narrow roads and stuff, you don't really have that in Turin, I guess,

because especially during, when it was built and in the 15 hundreds, 1600 and so on, they

used to do bigger roads, a bit like in a french style, as I said. So the old town, just a very,

very historical old town, which is, was built by the Romans, which is still called the Roman

Quarter, we could say. Still at those narrowish roads, but just there.

Olivia

Yeah, it's true.

Katy

And what I like about it, coming from a tram city myself, is that they do have trams to get

around and they're really cute little ones, aren't they? I love them.

Olivia

Me too. I love it. The classic orange.

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Andrea

The classic orange trams. Yes, I love them.

Katy

And the other one thing that I really noticed is the cafes. You have cafes all over Italy, but

these ones are especially elegant and I think very refined and you feel a bit fancy when you

go there.

Olivia

Coffee culture in Turin as well, it is like up here, number one, like when you go into these

beautiful bars, there's chandeliers everywhere, there's frescoes. You know, it's not just having

a coffee in some kind of dingy place, if you know what I mean. It is an experience.

Andrea

Yes.

Katy

Do you have some favorite cafes there?

Andrea

We have the cafes in the center, of course, you must try at least ones like Caffe del Cambio or

La Farmacia del Cambio or for example, the very historical one, which is the Bicerin in Piazza

della Consolata where they first created this, this special coffee, this special drink which is

called, in fact, Bicherin. Bicherin means in the Piedmontese dialect 'little glass' because it

was served in a little glass and it's a mix of coffee with chocolate and some whipped cream.

And you don't have to stir it. Absolutely not. You queue up and you drink it there in this

beautiful, historical place has been the same, like, I guess, from the 17 or 18 hundreds. It still

feels super old. They have candles on the table. They have chandeliers. It's historical, it's

charming. It's everything you want to have when you take a coffee and you want to feel like

you're having an experience.

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Olivia

And one of my favorite ones as well. That is a little bit less touristic, but it's a place that

Andrea used to take me all the time when we first started dating. It's in this beautiful Piazza

Vittorio Veneto called Caffe Clarissa.

Andrea

That's true. If you want to have a good slice of cake or a pie. Oh, that's your go to place,

especially if you visit in winter. It's a must go to.

Olivia

It is delicious. All of their beautiful cakes, coffees, and teas. Oh, it's wonderful. And the only

other one that I'll mention, there's so many. We're gonna have a whole episode just about

cafes and bars in Turin is a little chain, but it's a very. A chain just in, I guess just in Turin

called Berlicabarbis.

Olivia

Perfect pronounciation.

Olivia

Thank you, Andrea. I love this because it's a Piemontese word that he taught me that means

to lick your mustache. But you know that it's the mustache you get from milk that's all over

your lips, which I love it. So if you want to say it like a Piemontese.

Andrea

Berlicabarbis. And then you go there, you have coffee and cake. Very good cake as well. And.

Yeah, it's worth trying.

Olivia

Yeah.

Katy

Why can't we have a word like that in English? I think that's cute.

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Olivia

So perfect.

Katy

So I think the Bicerin, though, you have to have this drink. And I actually think, I don't know

when you're traditionally supposed to drink it. Is there a time of day that it's the best time to

drink?

Andrea

I would take it more in the morning just because it's a bit heavy, to be honest. So maybe you

don't want it later on in the day.

Olivia

Or if you want an extra shot of energy in the afternoon, you could also have a Bicerin.

Katy

Yeah, it worked for me. Like, I was like, you get this... the chocolate and the coffee, and

you're like, whoa, it's such a good drink. I mean, we're not talking watery coffee or, you know,

like, it's a really good, very high quality. And it's. It's like a little, very big shot of energy.

Andrea

Yeah. Now that you mentioned. Sorry, I was thinking that, as you said, there is the shot of

chocolate and stuff, because another important part of the culture in Turin, as you know well,

Katy, is the chocolate one. And the gianduiotto, which is the typical chocolate that is

produced, it's shaped like a little linguts and it's found all over the city, and now it's famous

for it and stuff. But back in the days, like 17 hundreds or 18 hundreds, chocolate making was

a big part of the economy of the city. Like, if you were a chocolate maker, you were rich.

Andrea

And I mean rich. So much so that there is still a saying to this day of the story, like, when in

the 17 hundreds, they used to go to the theater and everything. They - it was like a big

showing up to the red carpet. Right? And one day the king arrives with his beautiful carriage

with four horses at the front. And everyone's, like, astonished by this beautiful carriage. Right

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after, a chocolate maker, one of the most famous in town, arrives and his carriage is carried

by six horses. The next day, the chocolate maker had all his belongings, all his property and

goods taken away from him, and he was banished from the kingdom.

Andrea

And so still to this day, we have this saying in Turin, which is "fare la figura del cioccolataio",

which may literally translate to make the figure of a chocolate maker. But the meaning is to

make a fool of yourself because make the figure of a chocolate maker. You didn't really do the

right thing. You did a bit of a faux pas.

Olivia

Yeah, exactly. I love that story.

Katy

You didn't cover yourself in glory. You needed to be a bit more humble. Yeah, but let's face it,

the chocolate is good. It's so good. I'm a little bit obsessed with one of the Gobino. I'm like,

literally, I said to Liv the other day, she said, ask me if I wanted some and I said, I want some,

but I don't need some. It's so good. I don't know how to describe it, other than it's, like, kind

of solid but not hard. Like very luxe nutella.

Olivia

Yeah.

Katy

It's like what Nutella would be if it grew up and got some better ingredients and just sort of

got a little bit harder. I can't stop eating them. Like, isn't it that you're supposed to put it in

your mouth and leave it there for three minutes?

Andrea

Yes, it's like, when you're a kid, you just put in your mind, you bite right into it and. But when

you grow up, you want to separate a bit more, so you leave it on the tongue, and you leave it

to melt. And it's nice. It gives you a beautiful chocolate taste in the mouth because it's the

hazelnut. Yes. It's a nice little treat to have every now and then during the day.

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Olivia

Yeah, it's delicious. We love them.

Andrea

Yeah.

Katy

I don't know how you can stop at one, though. I just - that's my problem. I'm like, oh, my God,

it's so good. All right, so Turin is a big food city, and it's probably not well known. I mean, like,

all Italian cities have their own food culture. And, yeah, Turin's is more of that elegant. I love

the aperitivo there too.

Andrea

Yes. And, you know, I was thinking that it's true there is a bit of everything in Turin. For

example, there is, if you are into history, there is a lot of, like, the Egyptian museum, which

you never really thought, but, like, is the second biggest in the world. Or there is the Cinema

museum. There is the car museum. Because not just museums, of course, but, like, all these

museums are because there is a big culture in the city out of these topics.

Andrea

But in the last 20 years, I would say so, as you correctly said, Turin has started to invest a lot

into food, and it's where a lot of important movement come out of it. For example, the slow

food movement comes out of Turin, where they try to rediscover food grown locally. So not

fast food, but, like, produced locally and enjoy in a proper way, as it's meant to, like, respect

in the traditional way of doing it. Or the Eataly, which now is a big global brand, but it was

originally created in Turin to put on the shelves of the supermarket, like, actually good

products that you can rely on.

Andrea

So there is a big food culture now, for sure, which I really like. There is good wine in the

region itself, and a particular thing of Turin that is one of the only three places in the world

with, I think, Paris and Vienna, where you have a vineyard which is grown in the city.

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Olivia

So, yeah, that's cool.

Andrea

If you visit this place called Villa della Regina, which used to be a lot of things. This royal

palace, of course, where it was a queen villa. There is a big garden on the hill facing the city

center. And on one of the hills, they still, to this day, grow their wine, and they sell it.

Olivia

And that's where Andrea's grandmother also went to school with the queen's daughters.

Katy

Oh, very fancy. Very fancy. Yeah, I think it's amazing. I really enjoyed eating there, actually,

because there's a lot of great antipasti. And so you can try lots of different things and some

unexpected things too, like, I guess, the Russian salad and the Vitello Tonnato. And, like,

we've done an episode on the food of the region and you can go back and have a listen to

that. But it's a really interesting place to go, especially if you just want to go and try a few

little bits. And obviously, the pasta there is pretty good too.

Olivia

The tajarin or the agnolotti. And when it's truffle season, of course, you've got the white

truffles being shaved on top, which makes everything better.

Andrea

Absolutely.

Katy

I think up until recently, and, of course, Turin was the home, hosted the Eurovision Song

contest a few years ago, but up until recently, the thing that people knew most about Turin

was the Shroud of Turin, wasn't it?

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Andrea

Yes, absolutely. And it's still there in one of the main churches of the city. You can visit it, I

don't remember now, if they expose it every once in a while, but I think I'm pretty confident

that they still do that. But you can still visit the church where it's preserved in the Duomo. In

the Duomo, the main church.

Olivia

But when you visit it, just so you're clear, though, you can't - you can only visit where it's in

the box.

Andrea

Yes.

Olivia

It's not on display because it needs to be preserved.

Andrea

There are copies of it, of course, but the original one gets shown every once in a while.

Olivia

Once every seven or ten years, or whenever the Pope decides that they want to release it.

Andrea

The story goes that this shroud, which for everyone that doesn't know, it's supposed to be the

linen cloth where the body of Jesus was wrapped in after he was taken off the cross, it was

gifted or purchased by the royal house of Savoy and has been conserved in Turin. Now, we will

not go into the historical or religious details, of course, but if you are into that and if you

believe in it, you can visit it in Turin. And that, as Katy said, it's what Turin was mostly famous

for.

Olivia

And actually, though, if someone does want to see that, because we had some interested

guests on our recent tour and our wonderful guide, Carlotta Muti, who's been on some other

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episodes, she was saying that for the Jubilee next year, they are talking about releasing the

shroud. So keep your eyes peeled for any news on that. If you want to go and see the shroud.

It'll be very, very busy, though, if you do.

Katy

Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it will be, isn't it, that his face appears on the, on the material as

well. Like, it's the image of...

Olivia

It's whole body.

Andrea

It's front and back really.

Olivia

It's the whole. Exactly. I thought originally it was just the face, too, but on our tour, Carlotta

was explaining it's the whole sheet that was wrapped from his feet all the way over the head

and to the back.

Andrea

The whole body. It's huge, this sheet.

Katy

Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Having been inside the dormitory. And it's a beautiful church in its

own right. It's, you know, there's obviously a very interesting story behind it, and you can

probably dedicate several podcast episodes to that.

Katy

But anyway, there's so much and so many other things to say. You mentioned some of the

museums, but I really like the, we went to the Palazzo Madama, didn't we? And that was. I

loved that.

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Olivia

I've got the best way to describe this now, which I can't take credit for, because, again,

Carlotta branded it as this way. She described it as the ladies' party's house, because it was

the queen's house. So the king got his beautiful big palazzo in the main palazzo reale, in the

main royal, in the main square. And right, like, literally next door was an old castle that the

queen wanted to redo, I guess. And so they hired an architect who never ended up finishing

the job. So on one side, it is an old medieval castle, and the other facade is this beautiful,

kind of modern-day-looking palace, Palazzo Madama. And he never ended up finishing it. He

was called back to Sicily, I think.

Andrea

I think so.

Olivia

So he went somewhere else because he was from Sicily, the architect. But it's really cool,

because now you've got this amazing view of one side's medieval and one side's like a modern

day palace. And anyway, that's where the queen was, her palace, and she had all of her

parties there and that kind of thing. And you can go and visit and you can get a beautiful

view, which is what Katy and I did when we were in Turin together. If you go all the way up

the top, you can see the Alps over the city and. Oh, it's just spectacular.

Katy

Yeah, it's beautiful. And I think one of the really amazing things about it is, when you say

modern day palace live, it's like, it's like, it's more 18th century, I think, but it's not medieval.

But it's got an incredibly beautiful staircase inside that. People get their wedding photos

taken there, too, don't they?

Olivia

Yeah. In fact, we were considering..

Olivia

At the beginning of getting married there..

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Olivia

At the beginning getting married there. But, um, yeah, anyway, get some photos done there.

Katy

We know a good photographer. Shout out to Rihanna there. And what else can you do in Turin?

Andrea

Well, you can do a lot of stuff, I think, that I love. For example, when it comes to food still,

it's to visit the biggest open-air market in Europe, which is in Turin, and it's in Porto Palazzo,

and you have this huge market on a very big square. We especially go to the section of the

‘contadini’ of the farmers, which is in front of a beautiful fishmonger as well. And when we

lived there, when we used to live there, we went there every Saturday. We knew all the

farmers, and it was beautiful. And you can buy probably freshly produced…

Olivia

Kilometer zero products.

Andrea

And right also in that market, there is a little bottle shop that sells vermouth, locally

produced vermouth, because Vermouth was invented and first produced in Turin. And these

places still produce their own vermouth with their own specific recipe, which I absolutely

love vermouth. So I would definitely, if I were a tourist, go out, enjoy the market, enjoy the

vermouth, enjoy the drinks, and have a walk around the city to get a feel of what it feels

like.

Andrea

Because one of the things I appreciate the most of Turin, if you're a foreigner, is that, for

example, in a lot of places like Rome or Milan, if you speak English, for example, no one will

look at you twice because they are so used to having tourists, which is absolutely normal,

while Turin - and I think this gives you a bit the idea of how untouched by tourism a bit still is.

If you speak English in the street, people will turn around and look at you, like, thinking,

what are you doing here? We're not expecting it. So I appreciate this because, you know,

unfortunately, we were in Florence recently as well. And one of the sad things is that some of

the beautiful roads in the city center have been completely taken over by these shops that

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open and close every two weeks. And they just sell paninis, paninis, paninis. And it's

unbearable for both the people that live there, but also for tourists that want to have a real

experience and, like, not feeling like they're just scammed

Andrea

Or like cash machine tourism

Andrea

They want to enjoy a place where people live. And it's a real place with real people living it.

And I think that Turin can give you all of that.

Olivia

And some other beautiful places that some of our guests on the recent tour for Untold Italy

loved exploring was the Mole Antonelliana?

Andrea

Oh, yeah, absolutely. We didn't mention it now.

Olivia

Yeah. Which is like the symbol of Turin.

Andrea

Symbol of Turin. It's hard to describe. It's not a tower and it's not a skyscraper. You have to

think about this dome starting from the ground up, and when it reaches the summit, there is

a long tower on the top. You have to look it up. It's called mole, M-O-L-E Antonelliana. It used

to be a synagogue. It was built as a synagogue. But then when the project was finished, the

Jewish community decided not to purchase it. And so the city hall decided to extend the

project, building this tower up the top. And it served different purposes. And it's now the

cinema museum, the National Cinema Museum. So if you're a cinema interest cinema fan, you

can go and visit. But even if you're not, I would recommend going there because you can take

a lift which will take you right up the top. And you can see the city center of Turin from

above and the surrounding hills and the mountains on a beautiful day. And it's a breathtaking

experience. I love it. I'm a bit biased, I know, but it's worth it.

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Olivia

It's beautiful.

Andrea

Yeah.

Olivia

But if you're going to do that, you must book tickets in advance because that is always sold

out.

Andrea

But I'll let you in a little secret now. So if you want to see Turin from above, from the city

center, without queuing up, there is another way to do it. You just need to have good pair of

legs and do a bit of steps. But if you go to the Duomo, where the Shroud of Turin is, there is,

of course, a bell tower. You have to go through the museum there. There is also a museum.

You don't really have to visit the museum. You can just purchase the ticket to go on top of the

bell tower and walking up this bell tower, which is around 2 or 300 steps, so it's a bit of a

walk, but then you end up being in the dead center with mountains and city on every side.

And also there are signs on each four side explaining what you're looking at. And it costs less

than the Mole and it's not crowded, not touristy as going up the Mole.

Olivia

So it's a good tip.

Andrea

That's a good tip.

Olivia

And some other beautiful viewpoints as well that we haven't mentioned is the Monte dei

Cappuccini.

Andrea

That's a very romantic spot, the classic spot.

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Olivia

Very romantic, where Andrea has taken me before. Again, you walk over Piazza Veneto, which

is one of the main beautiful piazzas over the river Po.

Andrea

Yeah, you cross the river.

Olivia

And then you head, you see in front of you, you'll see the Gran Madre, which is a beautiful

church modeled after the Pantheon in Rome and if you keep walking towards the right, kind

of up a little bit of a hill.

Andrea

Not much though so don't worry.

Olivia

Not much. You do have to have a good pair of legs, though. You'll get to this other church,

which is a beautiful viewpoint because it looks back out over the city and over the river.

Andrea

Yeah.

Olivia

So that's really lovely, too. And then another. We're talking a lot about churches. We will talk

about other things, but we have to also mention Superga, which is Andrea...

Andrea

Superga was built in the 17 hundreds this is another church? But not because of the church

itself, but because it's on top of a hill where you can see the whole city from afar. Not from

the city, but from afar and the mountains at the back and the river. And it's the best

viewpoint to see the whole/all of Turin. It's worth visiting. You need to take either bus or a

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car or there is also in the weekends, I'm sure in the weekend, maybe also during the week, a

little train. They will take you up. It's very charming. It's very characteristic. They will take

you up this hill in the middle of a wood and will leave you right at the entrance of this

church.

Olivia

But wherever you go in Turin, in the distance, you always see Superga.

Andrea

Yes wherever you go.

Olivia

This Basilica.

Andrea

Yeah, that's true. It's not big, the church itself, but.

Olivia

You'll see it wherever you are. It watches over the city. So you know you're in Turin. It's like,

you know when you're in east Sicily and you always see Etna in Turin, you always see the

Superga church. It's always watching.

Katy

And all I can think of is, is that what the trainers are named after because, you know, the

Superga sneakers.

Andrea

I think you are right. Yeah, probably because I think it's from a brand which we will not

mention. But that brand that owns Superga, it's from Turin. So I think you might be right.

Never really made the connection, but yes. So it would make sense. Yeah, yeah.

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Olivia

But there's really. There's so much to do. So whether, you know, you're into history with the

palaces, the churches, cars, with the Fiat car museum...

Andrea

Or mysteries.

Olivia

Oh, yes, we have to talk about it.

Andrea

Turin is a city of mysteries as well. There is this story of Turin.

Olivia

Magic.

Andrea

Yes, of magic. Black and white magic. So there is this history. There are tours as well that do

it. You can do, in the city of the history of black magic, Turin being the link between the

triangle of cities of black and white magic. There is this imaginary triangle between Turin,

London and Lyon in France, which is the city of black magic. And one other with Turin,

Prague, and I don't remember, maybe Vienna, don't remember which one, which is the

triangle of white magic.

Andrea

And there are different areas in the city where you have symbols which you wouldn't really

consider twice. But then once you go there and you visit them and you learn about the history

of these places, you think like, oh, wait a second, this is, like, pretty particular, pretty

interesting. There are a lot of, like, for example, freemasons references. There is a lot of

history, both with the kings being there and Catholics and the church being a big part of

history. But as well, in the 16 hundreds, they had this tendency of wanting to find alchemical,

secret alchemists.

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Andrea

So, for example, in 2006, we had the Winter Olympics in Turin. Big thing. Everyone was so

excited. And they started to dig up the whole town to make underground parkings because

people had to park their cars. And they started to create this underground parking in the city

center near the Palazzo Reale where the king used to live. And they found these grottoes,

these caves that were used to do alchemical rituals, which are still studied to this day.

They're not accessible to the public because they're still digging them up and starting them 20

years later because they're still trying to figure out what the hell they were doing. Because

these grottoes are not mapped anywhere on the architectural plans of the age. Yeah, you can

find a bit of mystery if you look into it a bit.

Olivia

Yeah. And even if you're into, like, war history, something interesting that. Yeah. You want to

explain about that?

Andrea

One of the main squares, it's Piazza San Carlo, where, by the way, Katy, we forgot to mention,

there's a beautiful cafe, Caffe San Carlo, where you can enjoy a coffee in the piazza. Of

course, it's going to be expensive, but it's worth it.

Andrea

If you go to Piazza San Carlos, on one of the corners of the piazza, you will see that on the

facade of a building, you will find cannonballs lodged into the building, because Turin fought

many wars against the French and stuff. And during one of these wars, the French seized the

city and started to bomb Turin. And they were so close to the center that they were actually

bombing the buildings in the center. And some of those bombs, back in the days, were just

literally, like, metal balls shot out of cannon. They lodged into the city walls. And some of

them are still in there. Even when they renewed the facade, they left it there as a historical

hint of the past.

Olivia

What about the underground? The resistance?

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Andrea

See, there are a lot of things. Especially Turin was important during the resistance in World

War two. You can visit the Resistance Museum. Part of the tragedy of World War Two, but

Turin was important into the uprising and the resistance movement. So there is an important

Resistance Museum for the role that the city and the region in general play during World War

Two.

Andrea

I would visit it and try to learn more about all the curious little histories and stories,

especially that the city has to offer. For example, I think one of my favorites, it's the story of

bread, because no one really associates Turin with bread. But the sandwich bread originates

from Turin, because back in the days, they used to be the executioner, of course, in Turin and

the bread makers, the bakers, never wanted to give the bread to the executioner. So the

classic loaf of bread, which was flat on one side and round on the other, was served upside

down to the executioner. And the executioner hated it. So he went to the king and said, look,

you have to stop this. And so the king created this famous law that said, for all the bakers

that don't want to have the executioner as their client, they're going to be the client of the

executioner.

Andrea

And so they created this shape of bread, which was like a cube, a dice. Imagine a dice of

bread. So in this way, you never knew if it was served up or down. A few years later, the

French invaded Turin. They find this beautiful and weird kind of bread. They take it to France

and they make it longer. They just elongate it. And this is what we use now as the shape of

bread, which is

Olivia

the sandwich loaf.

Andrea

The sandwich loaf to make sandwiches.

Olivia

And it all came from Turin!

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Andrea

Yeah. From the executioner.

Olivia

Yeah.

Katy

That is amazing. I love these little stories. It just. They're so characterful. It makes the city

come alive. Oh, I really loved it. Now, if someone was going to stay in Turin, where was the

best place for them to stay so they could. Well, best areas so they could go and explore the

city easily? Probably on foot, I'd say.

Olivia

There's a few different ideas. You can either stay close to the train station. So Porta Nuova,

because there's two train stations, that's the more central one. If you do stay there, though,

you will have to walk a little bit further or be happy to get taxis. Otherwise, you could stay in

the old Roman area, the Quadrilatero which is beautiful and charming, if you like those

cobblestone streets and kind of that medieval vibe. Otherwise, you can stay also in Piazza

Carlina. Piazza Carlina is right in the city center. And that's a really good kind of midway point

if you want to go into the Roman quarter or if you want to go, you know, to the main shopping

street, Via Roma. That's another thing we haven't mentioned you can do. Shopping is amazing

in Turin. So, yeah, that's kind of a nice halfway point. So I would recommend one of those

areas.

Katy

And you mentioned the train station, and I think it's really worth mentioning to people

because it's actually not that far out of the way. People think, oh, you know, I've got to make

a big trek, but it's only a 1 hour train ride from Milan and it just makes it not that far from

Rome either, because you can go zip through pretty quickly, can't you? Yeah.

Olivia

To get to Rome is about four and a half hours on the fast train, so that's not too bad.

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Andrea

An hour on the plane, even less really.

Olivia

Yeah, exactly. Or you could fly, which is really, really close. An hour. They've got an airport in

Turin, but being close to the train station, you can also do some day trips to other places in

the region. Yeah, in Piedmont. So you could go to Cuneo, which is kind of like a mini Turin. I

really like it. It's charming. There's nothing in particular to do there but wander around. And

again, they've got a big coffee culture and they've got their own chocolates, which you won't

find in Turin, but they're delicious, especially if you like rum. They're called the Cuneesi al

Rhum and they're filled with rum and they're very alcoholic and chocolatey.

Andrea

In winter, they're perfect because they warm. They will heat you up very quickly.

Olivia

They're really delicious. So Cuneo is a nice kind of place to go, maybe for the day and wander

around. And there's a really nice vibe, nice markets.

Andrea

And then, of course, there is the Langhe region. You can take a train to Alba, which is the

capital of the region, we can say. And the Langhe region is especially famous for beautiful

wine.

Olivia

The only thing with that is that there's not a direct train to Alba, so you will have to change

trains. Getting to the Langhe region besides Alba, you really need a car. It's not serviced well

by public transport. If you want to do wine tasting or anything like that, you absolutely need

a car. The only other place that might be interesting via the train is Asti, which, if you're into

sparkling wine or, you know, medieval towns, they also have the Palio in Asti, not just in

Siena. So in September, you could go and see the famous horse race in Asti, and you can get

there. It's like half an hour on the train. It's really close from Turin, so there's some nice

places to go. But otherwise, I would say Piedmont is the region best with the car.

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Katy

I really fell in love with Turin. I wasn't there for very long, but I just, I loved the vibe of it. I

just found it really different. I just come from Venice and Venice is also a very elegant city,

but it's completely different. It's, you know, built on the water as well, but it's just such a

charming city. Now, I need you both to do me a favor. Can you name a favorite spot in the

city? What's your favorite place?

Olivia

Mine would be maybe where we had our first kiss, which was right outside Piazza Castello,

which is just beautiful. In the evening. It's very romantic because they have all the old lamp

lights and you've got the palace, the royal palace there, the Palazzo Madama there. They've

got a beautiful fountain in the center. And yeah, kind of that dusk hour is very romantic. So I

love that place.

Andrea

I would go for a place called Largo IV Marzo. A largo is like a piazza, but a bit smaller. It's in

front of the Duomo, but it's in this Roman neighborhood in the Quadrilatero and it's beautiful

because in summer you have all the trees and the restaurants where you can eat outside.

Sitting outside, there is music playing outside. It's the most relaxing thing you can do in

summer or in spring as well. Sitting out eating, enjoying the music, enjoying the warm

weather, with friends, with the people you love. Whatever I think about, when I want to have

some good time, I would go there and eat there. It's the best thing you can do.

Olivia

There's a really nice restaurant, if anyone's going, that is very casual, in that piazza, it's

called Cianci. So that's a nice one too.

Andrea

Yes. Another thing, if you see places called piola or piole, it's because you are - you all know

probably the trattoria. The trattoria here and there. In Piemonte, the trattorias are called

Piole. So if you hear, for example, Piola da Cianci, it's the name of the trattoria.

Olivia

Yes. Very bespoke to Turin, Piedmont.

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Andrea

Yes.

Katy

Oh, they both sound perfect. Olivia. Andrea, thank you so much for sharing all your insights

into Torino with us today. It's a really lovely city and I think everyone should go visit. You

know, like, it's an easy detour. And we often say on this podcast, even if you're going to see

the main cities, like, do a little detour to somewhere. And this one is so easy. It's just 1 hour

from Milan and you can just get on the train and it's completely different to Milan.

Completely different. And you'll have a beautiful, beautiful time. Now, I know the Untold Italy

listeners would love to stay in touch with you and learn more about the Italian wine and of

course, Turin. What's the best way for them to do that?

Olivia

So you can have a look at our website, which is italianwinetales.com. We've got an Instagram

page, italianwinetales. We've got a Facebook community, Italian Wine Lovers. And I've also

got an Instagram livguine. So L-I-V-G-U-I-N-E. If you want to have a look at maybe some

wedding photos too. Although we'll keep that to the minimum.

Andrea

Some pictures of Turin as well.

Olivia

And yeah, all of our tours and other places we go with untold Italy.

Katy

Well, it's my duty now to wish you all the very best for the wedding. I know I'm going to be

there in person, but on behalf of all the Untold Italy listeners who tune in every week, I know

many of them would love to wish you a beautiful day. And Grazie, thank you so much for

joining us on Untold Italy, as always.

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Katy

Thank you, Katy.

Andrea

Can't wait to see you.

Olivia

We can't wait. Not long now. It's a big pleasure to be on the show again. Thank you for having

us.

Katy

Yeah, I'm so excited. I can't wait to see you both too. Ciao. Ciao.

Andrea

Ciao

Olivia

Ciao, Katy. Grazie.

Katy

I hope you enjoyed hearing about Turin and its curiosities everyone. I was certainly charmed

by this gorgeous city and of course, I now feel the connection there strongly thanks to Liv and

Andrea and I know I speak for all of us on the Untold Italy team and you, our dear listeners

when I wish them all the happiness in the world together as a married couple and many more

trips to Turin to visit family and friends and of course to aperitivo and perhaps get me some

more of that delectable chocolate!

Of course, if you’re keen to explore Turin some more, we’ve provided all the places

mentioned in this episode and Liv and Andrea’s details in our comprehensive show notes at

untolditaly.com/226 for episode 226.

Thanks for your ongoing support of Untold Italy. We truly appreciate all of you, our listeners

joining us from around the world. If you have a spare moment we would so appreciate it if

you left us a 5-star rating and review on your favorite podcast app. That way we can reach

more Italy-loving travelers just like you and raise the profile of our wonderful guests like

Paulo who you heard today.

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Next week on Untold Italy we’re delving into the wonderful world of zingy pesto - one of the

world’s best sauces - pounded and perfected in the lovely Liguria region. So tune in next to

hear all about it and until then it’s ciao for now.

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