More City of the Week: Your Turin Itinerary

Your perfect Turin itinerary includes spending your morning in the Museo Egizio and Museo Nazionale del Cinema. At lunch, enjoy Piedmontese cuisine at a family-run trattoria, and then venture back out to get a glimpse of the Shroud of Turin in the Duomo di San Giovanni Battista. Finish your first day of sight-seeing with the Galleria Sabauda (same palazzo as Museo Egizio), where the dukes and kings of Italy’s famous Savoy family feature 14th to 19th century art work from Piedmontese, Italian and Flemish painters.

The Museo Egizio is considered to have the best collection of ancient Egyptian art and artifacts outside of Cairo [and arguably London], dating to 1400 BC, a collection initially acquired by the Savoys. Expect pharaohs, tombs and relics, the perfect artifacts of not only a culture, but of a film or movie set; perhaps a great precursor to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema. While the Mole Antonelliana has housed the Museo Nazionale del Cinema since only 2000, you’ll find history of Italian and American cinema, and art, with rooms resembling a theme, love, horror, death, etc. The props purchased from films like Aliens and Star Wars are amusing, as is the Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, movie posters and some of the first technology used to record and edit motion pictures. Don’t forget to take a ride in the elevator to the top of the dome for views of the city, Po and Alps. The building was originally constructed to be a synagogue, so you’ll find the architecture unique (however, many Italians refer to it as appalling too, think Eiffel Tower).

Tired and hungry yet? Since it’s time for lunch, stroll over to the Quadrilatero Romano where Diciottobi in Piazza Castello serves an affordable Italian brunch until 3PM, or head to the popular Neopolitan-style Pizzeria, Fratelli La Cozza on Via Cesare Battisti 13. Afterward, you must stop in one of the city’s historical baroque coffee shops. As the origination of the chocolate bar is attributed to the Piedmont region, the coffee shops in Turin combine chocolate and milk cream (and of course coffee) to make Bicerin. I adore the coffee shop, al Bicerin, on Piazza della Consolata 5. The coffee house opened in 1763 as a citron-water and confectionary shop and its’ marble tables, bar, wooden paneling and cast-iron detailing takes me on a time-machine to a romantic Italian movie (perhaps featured at the Mole Antonelliana also, no?).

Touring after your long lunch includes the Galleria Sabauda, where Botticelli, Rembrandts and portraits of the Savoy family complete your art history lesson. As for religion, well, you can head to Duomo di San Giovanni Battista. Built between the 14th to 15th century and said to be Turin’s only example of Renaissance architecture, the cathedral holds the Shroud of Turin. However, you only get to see the copy of it, hanging in front of the altar. The real shroud is only displayed every 25 years, so come back in 2025 for the viewing, okay?

And now it’s off to your hotel, for a shower and change of clothes before starting your Italian evening. Consider starting your stroll at one of the excellent wine bars and finish with a dinner at Ristorante Tre Galline on Via Bellezia 37. I loved the polenta—a dish typical to this region—and recommend trying the risotto and veal!
See you on Friday as we take a day trip to Piedmont’s alpine region, including the slopes of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Ooooh! And why not enjoy a quick stop at the Martini factory? Just make sure someone else is driving.