The historic coffee shops of Turin

• By Daphne Caruana Galizia

Jean-Jacques Rousseau fell in love with the squares and fabulous arcades of Turin. The capital city of Piedmont is where Nietzsche wrote Ecce Homo and descended into insanity. It is the city of great writers like Primo Levi (whose cousin sells privately-bottled grappa in the nearby Langhe area, with hand-drawn labels that have made the bottles international collectors’ items), Italo Calvino and Cesare Pavese. Every year in May, its international book fair attracts 230,000 visitors in five days. Its libraries host treasures like Leonardo da Vinci’s Self Portrait. Rare and unusual books are found in its book-sellers’ shops, and its museum has the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts outside Egypt itself. It is the home of vermouth, Martini, Campari and the gianduja chocolate. Yet to us, it is little more than Juventus and FIAT.

As with many European cities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, the coffee-houses of Turin are where dissent was fomented, great art debated, and the seeds of change planted in discussion. The most important figures of the Italian Risorgimento debated their aims and ideals here. Count Cavour enjoyed Caffe Florio, Massimo D’Azeglio and Einaudi preferred Baratti e Milano, De Gasperi whiled away his limited spare time at Caffe Torino, Alexandre Dumas drank coffee at Al Bicerin, and Cesare Pavese relaxed at Platti. The difference to most other European cities is that, in Turin, many of these coffee-houses are still there today. They are landmark locations, proudly hung on to by the Torinesi, and granted the status of Locali Storici d’Italia by the national authority that takes charge of such matters.

Caffé Mulassano

The Caffé Mulassano, known as the Bouvette, is a locale storico d’Italia – the ‘certificate of authenticity’ that Italy gives to its historic hot-spots. It is tiny, and at the time of our visit had a bad-tempered cashier and impatient waiters who made it more than clear that they were thoroughly bored of having their picture taken by endless streams of professional photographers and sightseeing amateurs. Yet the interior is spectacular, retaining all of its original intricacy, and the tramezzini and prosecco more than made up for the sour temper of those who served them. The Mulassano dates back to the second half of the 19th century, with the opening of a coffee-shop on the Via Nizza by Amilcare Mulassano, who was splendidly named after Hamilcar, father of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. Signor Mulassano at the time owned the famous Sacco distillery, which was renowned for its production of mint essence. His coffee-shop moved to its present address a hundred years ago, and still looks the same. The interior and exterior were designed by the engineer Antonio Vandone of Turin. The ornate woodwork was carried out by Enrico Pezza, assisted by Professor Capisano, who carved the ornamentation, and Signor Cazzaniga, who gilded it. The Catella brothers of Turin provided the marble in rouge de Var, onyx from Piedmont, green marble from the Alps, and imperial yellow marble. The Fumigalli Amerio company of Turin decorated it with bronze florals, and the ceiling of leather from Madeira was made by the saddler Palacchi of Turin. The Caffé Mulassano was for years the gathering-place of members of the Royal House of Savoy, and of performers from the nearby Teatro Regio. As stage performances gave way to television and cinema, it became the favourite haunt of directors, actors, and singers. It appeared in films and has often been used as the backdrop for fashion photography. This is the place where Torinesi first tasted toast and tramezzino, a type of sandwich introduced in 1925. During the Second World War, the Caffé Mulassano was damaged and badly restored, but in 1978, the present owner restored it to its original glory, to the overwhelming approval of a legion of fans.

Stratta

Confetteria Stratta, which opened its doors in 1836, is another locale storico d’Italia. Strictly speaking, it is not a coffee-shop, but a glorious emporium of old-fashioned confectionery. Situated prominently beneath of the arcades of the magnificent Piazza San Carlo, on the ground floor of the 18th-century palace designed by Castellamonte and owned today by the Whist Society, it drew a refined and wealthy public, including the Royal House of Savoy, which granted Stratta the use of the title ‘suppliers to the Royal House’. Stratta played its part in the unification of Italy. Count Cavour, the celebrated statesman who sought to bring the many parts of Italy together as a single kingdom, courted the attention of European ambassadors and sought to make them sympathetic to his cause by sending them gifts from Stratta. The order he placed with Stratta has gone down in history: 29kg of marrons glaces, 18kg of sherbet, 37kg of caramelised fruit, and a vast number of pastries, pots of jam and meringues, for the then grand total of 2,547 lire and 60 cents. Those were the days when Turin was the capital city and seat of the Royal family, a stage for parties, balls, and receptions. No event was complete without the catering services of Stratta, which continues to provide this very same service today, organising fine banquets and receptions. Stratta’s celebrated candies, brightly coloured fondants, delectable creamy gianduja, and irresistible chocolate drops, all beautifully packaged and displayed amid highly polished wood and sparkling crystal, continue to be bought as gifts, tributes, or presents to oneself today, retaining Stratta’s status as a prestigious going concern. Its marrons glâcés are particularly famed – chestnuts peeled by hand and left to candy in the candissoires for 80 hours. It all began when the master confectioners Stratta and Reina left the obscurity of their workshop and opened their prize-winning confectionery, choosing as the location the vastest, most beautiful arcades in the whole of Europe. The caval ‘d brons, the equestrian statue dedicated to Emanuele Filiberto, stands in the square outside. In 1840, Stratta became one of the first shops in Turin to install gas lighting. In 1858, Alessandro Reina left the business and the Stratta brothers continued to run it alone.

Ristorante del Cambio

The Ristorante del Cambio is a historic restaurant that now forms part of Turin Hotels International. It was opened in 1757, and was one of the first such establishments in the city. Its grand interior, with its gilded mirrors and vast chandeliers, is a spectacular backdrop for business lunches and romantic dinners. For 250 years, its clientele have included Turin’s movers and shakers – top names in business, politics, journalism, finance and the arts. The splendidly restored Count Cavour dining-room is draped with crimson velvet, and adorned with baroque mirrors and the paintings of Roberto Bonelli, with lavish gilding. The presentation is flawless, the flower arrangements are perfectly graceful, and the place settings are in period style, with original lace napery. Yet despite all this, the Cambio is warmly welcoming, even to the unannounced intrusiveness of two people armed with a camera and a notebook. When asked to strike a pose, the maitre d’ did so with a smile.

Al Bicerin

Al Bicerin was opened in 1763 by the acquacedratario, Dentis – a seller of citron-water (see our feature on the citron). The place is tiny, with a mere eight tables placed in exactly the same order they have been for 240 years. For most of its history, Al Bicerin has been run by women, as it is today, and was one of the few places where women could be seen without the company of male relatives and still remain respectable. They would stop by for a refreshing drink of coffee after mass at the nearby sanctuary, in those days preceded by the obligatory fast before receiving Holy Communion. The Al Bicerin was the closest venue for breaking that fast when they were almost fainting with the fatigue of a long mass on an empty stomach. The present owner, Marite Costa, says that the bicherin – the drink that gave this coffee-house its name – was created for those women “at this very counter”. In turn, the bicerin takes its name from the Italian word for the snifter, the short glass in which it is still served. It is made of one layer each of chocolate, espresso coffee and cream in secret amounts. It owes its origins to the bavareisa, a hot drink influenced by the Viennese/Bavarian way of drinking coffee with cream, which was served in Turin in the late 18th century. The bavareisa was made by mixing coffee with chocolate and milk, serving it in large glasses sweetened with syrup. Someone at Al Bicerin, which then had an entirely different name, hit on the idea of serving the ingredients in separate layers, and leaving the mixing up to the customers (most of whom don’t mix it). While waiting for your bicherin, you are besieged by the intoxicating aroma of chocolate cooking in large saucepans in the antiquated kitchen. This was Count Cavour’s preferred stop for rare bouts of relaxation. The signboard and advertising panels are the original glass ones, and so is the 18th-century counter. The marble step is worn with age, prompting one to remember that Alexandre Dumas frequently walked through that doorway, as did Nietzsche and Puccini. The heavy little marble tables, the mirrors, the glass jars full of coloured sweets called leone, the bottles of rosolio and vermouth, beautifully displayed, are much-loved features of this café.

Caffé Fiorio

Caffé Fiorio opened its doors in 1780, and in later days came to be known as the ‘café of the reactionaries’ and the caffe dei codini, because it was frequented by the aristocracy and high-ranking officers. Though it is busy in a way that affects its ambience, the inner rooms retain their great elegance. The Caffé Fiorio was famed in the 19th and early 20th century for its ice-cream, an ‘import’ from Naples.

Baratti e Milano

Closed on Mondays, the day we visited, this 130-year-old coffee-house and restaurant is sublimely situated at the entrance to the Galleria Subalpina, with its magnificent arcades of carved wood and gilding. When members of the Savoy family dined out, they dined at Baratti e Milano, and it is still one of the most popular restaurants for the fashionable. Its shop-front is incredibly beautiful, of blackened carved wood that looks like ebony, with decorated glass and spectacular carved figurines in the windows, flanking the costly sweets and chocolates. People stop by for the Turin version of a quick lunch – the monopiatto, the single plate that combines the first and second course.

Aperitivo

The aperitivo was born in Turin. It is the home of vermouth, which is made from white wine flavoured with herbs and spices, and was first produced in 1786 in Turin by Antonio Benedetto Carpano. The aperitivo families – Campari, Martini and Rossi, and Cinzano, are based there. Just as groups of men gather in Malta on Sunday mornings with a beer or a glass of whisky, in Turin they debate local politics over a Campari or Cinzano, or a Martini Extra Dry.

Other famous coffee-houses in Turin are:

Caffé Torino

Caffé Elena

Caffé San Carlo