One fun element to spending time in Italy is getting to participate in the numerous food and wine exhibitions the country hosts each year. The main one I am looking forward to this year is Salone del Gusto 2010 in association with Slow Food and will be held in Turin, October 21-25 (advance booking recommended, the official program will be announced on Wednesday 19th of May).
However, starting today in Parma is the 15th edition of Cibus, the International Food Exhibition. Together with Dolce Italia, the Confectionery Exhibition, the organizers are expecting more than 60,000 visitors over this 4 days event.
Now given the abundance of food exhibitions in the country why would I highlight this event? One simple answer: Parma. I am a big Parma fan and I am not talking just about the prosciutto. Parma can be reached in less than two hours from TorreBarolo and is a wonderful city to walk around given its long shop lined pedestrian streets and lovely porticos. Parma is continually cited as one of the best Italian cities to live in and an afternoon walking around this elegant city will surely provide you with an insight as to why it gets this ranking.
Anyway, back to Cibus. What you can expect to find will be representatives of European and International retail chains and for the first time, an exhibition area has been set aside for foreign retail chains to display their premium brand lines.
CIBUS will also host “Dolce Italia, the Confectionery Salon” and “Planet Nutrition” which is a new initiative consisting of courses and seminars on topics such as baby food, diet and sports, nutrition for the elderly, and much more.
In the large “Eating Out” Piazza will also include a bar as well as a restaurant area and theme this year will be “Breakfast”, with demonstrations and tasting sessions for breakfast products, from pastries to coffee, fruit juices to cereal-based products. Another innovation will be “CIBUS in the City”, with kiosks by leading food companies located in Parma’s streets and piazzas offering tastings.
So, if you are interested in both Italian and European food products and fancy a visit to one of Italy’s nicest cities, then a visit to Parma for CIBUS is a great day out.
Only 45mins from TorreBarolo, you can be in downtown Turin. I understand if Turin might not be on your list of “Must Sees” if you only have a week of holiday in the Langhe but I would strongly suggest even an afternoon as it has some of the finest cafes in Europe, wonderful promenades and a strong sense of history that will surely enhance your holiday experience.
Turin has its share of beautiful palazzos and interesting museums but to get a sense of the city’s gracious past, exploring the cafes is a fun way to do this. In experiencing these cafe’s decor, you see that Turin‘s great era has more in common with Paris than with Rome. I suppose with all these cafes it should not be surprising Turin also is home to the largest coffee company in Italy, Lavazza. They even have their own training center where you can take a class on everything coffee but it is for professionals only.
Torino also produces some of the finest chocolate in Italy as well and often you find in Torino coffee and chocolate are often combined. Gianduia is a good example of their excellence in chocolate, as the blending with hazelnuts (from the Langhe) creates a deliciously sweet confection.
Below are a few suggestions of caffès and sweet shops, though don’t leave it to a Sunday as almost all these shops are closed on Sunday and even some of the caffès and some even on Monday.
Bars/Caffès:
Caffè-Pasticceria Baratti & Milano, Piazza Castello 29, closed Monday. This caffè, which opened in 1875, is known for its quiet elegance. Its gracious rooms are ideal for enjoying a coffee or tea with a delicious pastry.
Caffè-Confetteria al Bicerin, Piazza della Consolata 5, closed Sunday afternoon and all day Wednesday. Although this is a bit tricky to find, it is a landmark not to be missed. It is Torino’s oldest locale in continuous operations (since 1763) and it can claim both Nietzsche and Alexandre Dumas as regulars. Bicerin is named for its most popular drink, which is a combination of hot coffee, chocolate and light cream. I can definitely say this is a “must experience” drink and given the quality and richness of the ingredients, dare I say I didn’t even need a pastry to accompany my beverage. The word Bicerin comes from Torinese dialect that means “something delicious”. If a hot drink might not be what you are after on a summer evening, they also make a light refreshing chocolate drink called cioccolato freddo.
Caffè del caffè, Piazza Carlo Felice 49. Many locals say this beautiful bar has the best coffee in town.
Caffè Mulassano, Piazza Castello 15, closed Sunday. This is a classic cafe and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful. It opened in 1907 and its decor reflects a taste for the exotic that influenced the art and design in Torino at the time.
Caffè San Carlo, Piazza San Carlo 156, open weekdays and weekends until 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. Opened in 1837. A perfectly square room, a neoclassical hall of 12 mirrors with a huge Venetian chandelier above.
Caffè Torino, Via Roma 204 (Piazza San Carlo). Closed Sunday. Opened in 1903. They have seating outside under the porticos but the elegance of the decor on the inside is what I enjoy. Inside there is a long carved wood bar on the left and on the right is a display case with chocolate, tiny pastries, gelatine (candied fruit) and breakfast pastries.
Sweets:
Confetteria Avvignano, Piazza Carlo Felice 50. Closed Monday morning and Sunday. This has been a sweet shop since 1882.
Falchero, Via San Massimo 4 (just off Via Po) Closed on Monday and 3 weeks in August. Famous for tiny fresh creamy pasticcini that weigh only 10g and contain relatively little sugar. You can taste the flavours of all the ingredients.
Peyrano, Corso Moncalieri 47: considered the best chocolate maker in Torino. They can be purchased at Pfatisch (closed Sun/Mon) on Corso Vittorio Emanulele II, 76.
On March 6th/7th, the annual “Cioccolato alla Corte del Barolo Chinato” returns to Barolo. For these two days, there will be tastings of 20 versions of Barolo Chinato, which is an aromatized digestive wine with an alcohol level between 16% and 17%. It is created by adding a sugar and alcohol mixture that has been left to absorb various spices with a Barolo D.O.C.
This recipe is actually a prescription that was used at the end of the 1800 in the pharmacies of Chaplain of Serralunga and Zabaldano di Monforte d’ Alba to fight malaria, but since this produce has been enjoyed in the bars and vermoutheries.
Barolo Chinato production is small so this event provides a unique and fun event to sample this delicious (yet potent) liquor alongside several types of chocolates and desserts from some of the best confectionery houses in Piemonte, like Baratti & Milano and Novi & Venchi.
The event takes place in the Regional Wine cellar in Barolo and the tasting begin at 10:00. And if you can’t make it to Barolo, this event will take place in Turin on the 13th/14th of March at the Barolo Palace of Turin (Via delle Orfane) where some of the best pastry chefs in Turin will offer visitors their specialties for coupling with the tasting of the Barolo Chinato, and then again on the 27th/28th of March at the Relais Club Venchi of Cuneo (Piazza Europe). We do have availability at TorreBarolo for that weekend, so book now to get your cholcolate and wine fix!!!
This is one of the largest royal residences in the world, La Venaria Reale, comparable in size to Versailles. This huge complex includes the baroque Royal Palace and gardens as well as the 3000 hectare of La Mandria Park. The palace was commissioned for Duke Charles Emmanuel II, as a base for his hunting expeditions. La Venaria Reale opened to the public in 2007, following the largest restoration program in Europe. Both the palace and park are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
This extravagant baroque Royal Palace was used as a Savoy residence in the 17th to 18th centuries and is one of the most significant examples of baroque art and architecture in existence and is considered one of the most beautiful royal residences in Europe.
The entire surrounding village of Venaria and the Duke’s hunting grounds were reshaped to incorporate the palace and its many annexes so that they all flowed together into one monumental site.
The garden was completely destroyed in the 19th century but etchings and drawings of the original garden were used in creating the new garden. The new garden has the same lines and proportions as the old garden but has a more contemporary style.
In addition to touring the palace, there are exhibitions available to visit, both permanent and temporary.
In keeping with providing a restaurant recommendation for your day trip, there is a very special restaurant contained within the Palace. Dolce Stil Novo is the restaurant of Alfredo Russo, and is considered one of Italy’s most renowned restaurants. It opened in 2008 and although I can’t personally recommend it (yet) the unique setting would be a great venue to celebrate a special event.
Entrance into the Palace and gardens is €14 and they are open Tues-Sunday. At La Venaria Reale you will loose yourself in nature, history and the arts, it’s located just 10km from Turin city center, or about 50min by car from TorreBarolo.
This year, the Torino Film Festival celebrates its 27th anniversary; this is also the first year it is directed by Gianni Amelio. The Festival remains true to its tradition of discovery and critical reflection of contemporary cinema, its languages and its authors.
On November 13th, the opening of the 27th TORINO FILM FESTIVALwill be celebrated at the prestigious Teatro Regiowith the international preview of Nowhere Boy,the first feature film by the English director Sam Taylor Wood. The film focuses on John Lennon’s early years and is based on the book Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon, written by John’s stepsister, Julia Baird. 2010 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the death of the English musician.
One of the new features introduced by Festival director Gianni Amelio is a special recognition,the TORINO GRAND PRIX,to honor directors who, from the rise of the nouvelles vagues of the1960s on, have helped renew the film language. During the final evening of the Festival, theaward will be given to Emir Kusturica, for the inventive quality of his films and the absoluteoriginality of his style.
As always, the program of the 2009 TORINO FILM FESTIVALoffers a rich selection of approximately 220 films, projected in the following sections:
TORINO 27 – FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION. The main competitive section of the Festival is reserved to directors making their first, second or third film and proposes fifteen newly produced films that have yet to screen in Italy. A MOVABLE FEAST. This is a voyage that will accompany Festival-goers through the most interesting films of 2009, the rising trends and the most curious previews. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT. This section takes stock of an emerging director or specific phenomenon in international cinema. This year, the protagonist is Nicolas Winding Refn, a young Danish director. ITALIANA.DOC. A competition reserved to unscreened Italian feature-length documentaries, on film or in video. SONS AND LOVERS. Six important Italian directors, representing different generations, trends, expressive lines and themes, are asked to choose a film from the past that was of fundamental importance in catalyzing their inspiration and their desire to become a filmmaker. ITALIANA.CORTI. Short films have their own language, tempo and rhythm and this is why the TFF has decided to reserve a specific competitive space to them. SPAZIO TORINO. This competition presents the best shorts that were made by filmmakers who were born in or reside in Piedmont, an area that has always been a ferment of film activity. WAVES. This section is a crossroads of trial proofs, research trends, explorations of languages, formats and expressive methods.
CIBUS will also host “Dolce Italia, the Confectionery Salon” and “Planet Nutrition” which is a new initiative consisting of courses and seminars on topics such as baby food, diet and sports, nutrition for the elderly, and much more.
This recipe is actually a prescription that was used at the end of the 1800 in the pharmacies of Chaplain of Serralunga and Zabaldano di Monforte d’ Alba to fight malaria, but since this produce has been enjoyed in the bars and vermoutheries.
