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Winter sports aside, this diverse and sophisticated region offers plenty to see and do
Attractions
Despite its industrial reputation in some quarters, Turin is, at heart, a venerable, appealing, and classy city, and one with historic and downtown areas which are fairly compact and walkable. Most of Turin’s historic center, cafés, museums, palaces, and other attractions, are to be found in an area roughly stretching some two-dozen blocks northwest from the Po river and some two-dozen blocks northeast from Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the Porto Nuova main train station up to Piazza della Repubblica. It’s an area bursting with impressive palazzos, piazzas and monuments, gracious baroque architecture and galleries, cobbled streets and grandiose boulevards. The Lingotto Convention Center area, which dates largely from the early-to mid-20th century, and several key museums, are a few blocks southwest of Porto Nuova/Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
Finding your way around is not difficult, but you may want to get oriented by taking the hop-on/hop-off Turismo Bus Torino (€6), which offers a running narration as it shuttles between more than a dozen stops around town. Once you’ve gotten your bearings, you’ll make your way around the sights much more quickly and easily with the Torino Card (€16–€18), which gets you free public transit and admission to 130 area sights, plus performance, tour, and kids’ discounts over a two- or three-day period. Pick one up, along with a map and other useful info, at the Atrium Torino in Piazza Solferino (39-011/516-2006; daily 10am-7pm); there are also branches in the main Porta Nuova train station and at Caselle airport.
Churches, Museums, and Palaces
Since urbane Turin was a ducal, royal, and cultural capital for generations, it’s rich in palaces and also boasts at least half-a-dozen world-class museums, in addition to its namesake shroud. Here’s a brief rundown of the must-sees.
The big kahuna, churchwise, is the Duomo di San Giovanni Battista (Piazza San Giovanni; Mon-Sat 7am-12.30pm & 3-7pm, Sun 8am-12.30pm & 3-7pm; free), a handsome late-15th-century Renaissance bit of business best known for housing the Santa Sindone (a.k.a. the Shroud of Turin), perhaps the world’s most famous miraculous artifact – or religious fraud, depending on your point of view. The actual shroud and chapel in which it’s stashed are still closed to the public (and won’t be publicly on view for another 20 years), but there’s a copy on view in front of the main altar. Shroud-aholics can follow up with a visit to the nearby museum, the Museo della Sindone (Via San Domenico 28; daily 8am-12pm & 3-6pm; €5.50; www.sindone.org).
The number-one museum not to miss is the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (Via Montebello 20; Tue-Fri & Sun 9am–8pm, Sat 9am-11pm; €5.20; www.museonazionaledelcinema.org), both because of its striking design and contents, as well as the unusual Mole Antonelliana, a soaring 19th-century landmark (named for its architect), which houses it. Originally intended as a synagogue – but turned down by the city’s Jewish community – it subsequently went through several incarnations (including a film archive) until its current gig as national movie museum. If the line’s not too long, don’t miss an elevator ride to the roof, where the view over the city and surrounding peaks is quite a bella vista .
Those who really want their mummy will dig the Museo Egizio (Via Accademia delle Scienze 6; Tue–Sun 8.30am-7.30pm; €6.50; www.muzeoegizio.it), with one of the best Egyptian collections outside the land of the pharaohs. Car nuts, on the other hand, might appreciate the Museo dell’Automobile (Corso Unità d’Italia 40; Tues–Sun 10am-6.30pm; €5.50; www.museoauto.it) a little outside the center of town. It's devoted to the wheels and the industry that have been major butterers of Turin’s bread for more than a half-century – look for defunct Trabants from East Germany, sleek hyper-capitalist Rolls-Royces, and, of course lots and lots of FIATs.
Turin has been a big-leaguer in modern design and art, as well, so it’s no shocker that its Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (Piazza Mafalda di Savoia; Tue-Thur 10am-5pm, Fri-Sun 10am-9pm; €6.50; www.castellodirivoli.org) is one of Italy’s most interesting and cutting-edge – especially because of its interplay of contemporary art installations and elaborate 17th-century Castello di Rivoli surroundings, complete with marble, wood and plaster work, and painted ceilings and walls; the building itself was the Savoys’ favorite castle and is found on the outskirts of the city.
Of the castles and palaces most worth checking out on their own merits, the Palazzo Madama (Piazza Castello; Tue-Fri & Sun 10am–8pm, Sat 10am-11pm; www.palazzomadamatorino.it) gets high marks. Smack in the middle of the old town, in Piazza Castello, it dates back to the 13th century but later got an extreme baroque makeover. Its current moniker is the result of its stint as the residence of a well-known royal widow; today, it’s worth a gander both for its grandiose interior and its Museo Civico d’Arte Antica, crammed with Piemontese art from the Renaissance and Middle Ages.
Right nearby, the royal apartments and gardens of the Palazzo Reale (Piazetta Reale; Tues-Sun 8.30am-7.30pm; 39-011/436-1455; €6.50 guided tour) also offer up an eyeful thanks to its 17th-to-19th-century tenure as residence of dukes and kings.
The newest don’t-miss on the palace circuit is the Venaria Reale (Via D. Bertolotti 2; Tue, Thu, Fri without appointment; Mon, Wed, Fri with appointment; call 39-011/559-2211; €3; www.lavenaria.it), Turin’s 17th-century royal complex from which France’s "Sun King" Louis XIV copped ideas when he cobbled Versailles together a year later. Reachable by train and bus, about seven miles northwest of town, it’s still under restoration and won’t completely open until 2007, although at press time, a good chunk was expected to open to the public (on guided tours) during the Olympics. Along with the main palace, it will include not only parks and stables, but an equestrian center, hotel, and cultural and conference facilities.
EXPLORING SOUTH PIEDMONT WINE COUNTRY
Turin, Piedmont’s capital, is located just southwest of the center of a territory extending from the alps north of Lake Maggiore nearly down to Genoa on the Mediterranean coast. Here, we focus on Piedmont’s south, characterized not by spectacular craggy peaks, but gorgeous rolling hill country which produces some of the world’s most distinguished wines and foodstuffs. Scattered throughout this area are various distinct local regions, such as the Langhe, La Morra, Roero, and Monferrato, with well over 100 establishments where you can tour, sample, buy, and otherwise experience the many forms of wine that originate here, including Asti Spumante, Barolo, Barbera, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, Malvasia, Moscato, and Nebbiolo, along with the grappas derived from them. Wine isn’t all there is to taste here, mind you, as the region abounds with local delicacies from chocolates to escargots. You’ll also find the region’s most famous and emblematic cities – historic rivals Alba and Asti – both southeast of Turin and not far from each other.
While regular train service connects Turin with Alba, Asti, and several other lesser towns in the rolling wine country to the south, the best way to appreciate the area is by car; conveniently, virtually anything in the area is within a one-or two-hour drive, making day-tripping a snap. You can also join an organized tour; better bets include Turin agencies such as Promotur (www.promotur.net) and Fromatour (www.fromatour.it), as well as regional tourist offices including that of Asti (www.terredasti.it) and Alba (www.langheroero.it) and its surrounding area.
Alba Old Town
Some 29 miles (30 minutes) southeast of Turin, Alba’s atmospheric main square, Piazza Risorgimento, is ringed by nearly 24 red-brick towers dating from the Middle Ages, built by aristocratic clans competing to see who could erect the highest and grandest phallic symbols. It’s also the site of the recently restored 12th-century red-brick San Lorenzo cathedral (whence the square’s more common name, Piazza del Duomo, I.E. cathedral square); inside you’ll find some lovely 19th-century paintings and elaborately carved choir stalls dating from the 16 century. Browse some great boutiques along nearby Corso Vittorio and consider making one of your days here a Saturday or Monday, when open-air markets are held in the center of town.
Asti Old Town
Also a short drive southeast is Alba’s age-old rival of Asti, which offers a bit more in the way of visitor sights. One of its most charming plazas is Piazza Medici, where you can climb the 13th century Torre Troyana for views over the medieval quarter and beyond from a 37m-high perch (April–Oct Sat–Sun 10am-1pm & 4-7pm; weekdays by reservation only; 39-0141/399-460; €2). A short stroll away are the city’s principal churches, predating the tower by a good 500 years; the Chiesa Collegiata di San Secondo, in particular, holds the banners used in Asti’s famous annual Palio (horse race) in September. Saturdays and the fourth Sunday of the month also bring an outdoor market to Piazza San Secondo.
Augusta Bagiennorum Roman ruins
About an hour from Turin, outside the towns of Bene Vagienna and Roncaglia, and close to Barolo, this 15,000 acre estate holds a 2000-year-old aqueduct, amphitheater, baths, temple, and several houses (by reservation 39-0171/734-021; free).
THE WINE AND FOOD TRAIL
Enoteca or bottega, wine cellars or emporia where you can sample a number of local labels and vintages from the surrounding region, free – and buy the ones you like – abound in the area, as do cantina, azienda, and cascina, wineries and vineyards, many of which are also open to visitors. Following are just a handful of choice picks; you can locate more at the tourism offices indicated below. You’ll also find local purveyors of chocolate, truffles, hazelnuts, and various other foodstuffs.
Alba
Top spots include the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo (Castello Falletti; Feb–Dec Fri–Wed 10am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm; www.baroloworld.it), housed in an 11th-century castle that dominates the picturesque and eponymous town. Just north of Alba, the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco (Via Torino 8/A; Feb–Dec Thur–Tue 9.30am-1pm & 2.30-6pm; www.enotecadelbarbaresco.it), occupies a former church. Also not to miss is the more diverse Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour (Via Castello 5; Feb–Dec Wed–Mon 9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-6.30pm; 39-0173/262-459), part of an imposing castle in the gorgeous hilltop town of Grinzane Cavour. Also in Alba, Barolo’s Cantina Mascarello (Via Roma 15; Mon-Fri 8am-12pm & 2.30pm-6.30pm, Sat 8am-12pm & 3.30-6.30pm, Sun 8.30-12.30pm; 39-0173/56-125) is housed in the Mascarello family’s 19th-century ancestral home and is particularly well-known for the stubborn purism and traditionalism of its recently deceased longtime patriarch.
Asti
The town of Canelli (www.commune.canelli.at.it) is famous for its "underground cathedrals" (www.cantinestoreiche-canelli.it) – massive, brick-vaulted caves and galleries where wine is made and stored. Two notables that date from the mid-19th century are the extremely atmospheric Cantina Contratto (Via G.B. Giuliani 56; Tue-Fri 8am-12pm & 2-6pm; www.contratto.it), and Cantina Gancia (Corso Libertà 66; by appointment at 39-0141/830-253 or Veruschka_Fissolo@gancia.it; www.gancia.it), where Asti Spumante was invented in the 19th century; the latter now has a historic section, wine museum included, as well as a modern assembly line (note: you might want to tote a sweater, it gets chilly down here). The area is also known as truffle country, and you can sniff out fabulous fungi with the pros at Casa del Trifulau (reserve at 39-0347/299-1832; www.lacasadeltrifulau.it).
Cuneo
About a dozen miles west of Alba, we never miss a stop in the handsome town of Cherasco (www.cherasco2000.com), where you risk hypoglycemic coma amid the shops and artisans that produce exquisitely handcrafted chocolate (an even better known local specialty, by the way, is escargots). Make sure to visit the Confetteria e Pasticceria Barbero (Via Vittorio Emanuele 74; www.pasticceriabarbero.com), a charmingly old-fashioned shop that's well over a century old.
