Turin means Chocolate

When we think of quality chocolate often we think of Swiss or Dutch versions however Italy has a strong tradition in the production of chocolate and Turin was the birthplace of Italian chocolate production. Since I am a chocoholic each trip to Turin meant a chocolate fix. I would always try some new place and the number of family owned businesses that have perfected the art of making chocolate is impressive. I know I have not convinced you that chocolate and Turin are synonyms so I thought the history of European chocolate would be interesting.


The folklore of Chocolate: The chocolate plant is said to have divine origins. A princess was left to guard the treasure of her husband. During a fierce battle with the enemies she was overcome. The attacking forces attempted to force her to reveal the location of the treasure but she was killed without disclosing the information. From her blood, the chocolate plant was born. This plant held a treasure in its seeds, "bitter as the pain of love, strong as virtue, slightly red as blood".

Chocolate was also the coinage of the Aztecs. A pumpkin cost 4 beans, a rabbit 10 beans, an amorous night with a concubine 12 beans, and a slave 100 beans.

From France, the chocolate bean was introduced into Piemonte in the late 1600s. Numerous pastry chefs began working the new material and Turin quickly became the capital for chocolate. The first regal license and process patent, from the house of the Savoia, was granted in 1678 to Gio' Battista Ari. Shortly thereafter the first chocolate production plant opened. Soon after the monks from various monasteries found that this was a good way to increment their natural food product lines and moved heavily into refining and producing chocolate. In the middle 1700s various Swiss chefs worked as apprentices in the Turin chocolate facilities. You can still see the influence of the Turin chocolate makers in Swiss production by the names utilized for their top line chocolates.

Initially chocolate was only available as a drink. The process to prepare chocolate was very similar to that of coffee.

In 1732 a French artisan Dubuisson invented the flat table heated with hot coals. This process was significantly more efficient because it allowed the workers refining the chocolate beans to stand up. From this invention, in 1778 in France, the first hydraulic machine to refine the chocolate was patented.

In the early 1800s the English patented a steam based refining machine and began working extremely high quantities of cacao beans.

Later, in Holland, Van Houten invented a machine that extracted the butter of cacao from the beans. This resulted in a chocolate that was more fluid, thus more palatable.

In the late 1800s the Swiss, Daniel Peter, added condensed milk to the chocolate butter resulting in a solid milk chocolate. Simultaneously another Swiss, Rudolph Lindt, created a new and original method to refine chocolate resulting in an extremely refined cacao butter, thus dark chocolate.

Today "Chocolato Caldo" or hot chocolate is still prepared in way very similar to the method used in the 1700s. "Chocolato Caldo" is very hot and thick, much like drinking hot chocolate pudding without all the sugar. This is a marvelous treat in the winter, when in Turin.

A slight variation on chocolate is the heavenly smooth Gianduia. This chocolate delight has origins of its own. In 1806 Napoleon placed a blockade against the royal family of Turin. The people of Turin would not give up their chocolate but times were difficult. The chocolate chefs came up with a solution. They added 20-40 grams of hazelnut cream for every 100 grams of chocolate. My brother loves Gianduia, he often asks for me to bring these chocolates home when I return from Italy. It should be remembered that high quality chocolates and Gianduia are produced and sold only in the months where the outside temperature is less than 78 degrees.

The places to find really great chocolate in Turin:

Leinì
Giordano
p.zza Carlo Felice, 69 / tel. 011 547 121

Accornero
via Vanchiglia, 32 / tel. 0118 122 859

Gertosio & Sperandri
via Lagrange, 34 / tel. 0115 621 942

Madama Reale
via Mazzini, 19 / tel. 0118 174 385

Peyrano-Pfatish
c.so Vittorio Emanuele, 76 / tel. 011 538 765

Baratti & Milano
p.zza Castello, 27 / tel. 0115 613 060

Stratta
p.zza San Carlo, 191 / tel. 011 547 920


Tags: Chocolate Torino Turin Shopping Alps Piemonte Travel Italy

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Turin Olympics – The Schedule

The Torino 2006 Winter Olympics begin with the opening ceremonies on February 10, 2006 in the city of Turin. Ice Hockey, Speed Skating, Figure Skating, Figure Skating and Curling will all be held in the city itself while the outdoor sports will be located in the various resort locations around Piemonte.

Here are the sports and the locations where the competition will be held:

Ski Jumping, Cross Country, and Nordic Combined – Pragelato
Alpine Skiing – Sestriere and San Sicario Fraiteve
Biathlon – Cesano San Sicario
Bobsleigh, Skeleton, and Luge – Cesano Pariol
Freestyle Skiing – Sauze d’Oulx, Jouvenceaux
Snowboard - Bardonecchia

Complete information including the explanation of the events can be downloaded [955k Pdf file] here

Tickets can be purchased here

Sestiere is truly beautiful whether you ski or not and is definitely worth spending a week. Unfortunately I have not been to the other locations as I preferred destinations closer to my home in Bergamo.

Tags: Olympics Torino Winter Vacation Skiing Alps Piemonte Travel Italy

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Turin Olympics - Torino 2006

Turin is a complex city. Turin’s history is birthplace of kings, seat of marvelous wines both red and white, manufacturing giant, and today primary destination for winter tourism. Both location and the genealogy of the royal family have created strong French influences in local culture. The local dialects are varying degrees of provincial French. I lived in various cities in Piemonte, Torino, Torre Pellice and Cuneo. I was amazed that my Italian, however poor, was useless; Provincial French was the basis for communicating with everyone, so if you happen to visit the Winter Olympics, try speaking French, you may be surprised at the response.

Piemonte is one of the greatest winter sport destinations in the world, interestingly it is completely overlooked. People think of Switzerland for skiing. Switzerland has some fantastic skiing but does not have the hospitality, infrastructures and variety of locations that Piemonte encompasses. Just as importantly, when is the last time you thought of Switzerland for a good wine? Piemonte is such a great destination that this year’s edition of the Winter Olympics is the 2nd in the last 30 years.

If you are planning to visit the Olympics make sure that your accommodations are in Turin or more west. This is a (attention it is a 138k pdf file) map from the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics official site.

Tags: Olympics Torino Winter Vacation
Skiing Alps Piemonte Travel Italy

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Turin Overview

Turin is nestled at the base of the Alps in the northwestern corner of Italy. During my first year in Italy, 1980, I lived for about six months in this beautiful city. I must specify, at that time I was a missionary for my church, so I was very poor. The living conditions were pretty terrible but the apartment, a 5th floor loft with no heating, was located right on the river on the east side of the city in Corso Casale. The stone floors would create dust, no matter how often you cleaned them, and Turin can be VERY cold.

FIAT, the car manufacturer or as they say in New York “Fix It Again Tony”, was still a big company at that time. They were the major employer and 50% of the city’s territory and 90% of the businesses, directly or indirectly, worked for FIAT. The FIAT plants are just huge warehouse like structures, really ugly, and go on for several city blocks.

I lived through this experience and over the years have learned to appreciate Turin for its great culture. In the 1800s Turin was the capital of Italy. One of the 3 primary Italian royal families also called Turin home. Remember that Italy has had several kingdoms thus the royal families are rather prevalent. If you add in Napoleon, who was born in Corsica that was Italy until he, as emperor of France, annexed the island to France.

Today FIAT is less important, after they milked GM for 5 billion, yes billion, dollars they have just about exited the automobile industry. If GM had asked me I could have saved them a lot of money. Turin, once part of the “Iron Triangle”, is no longer the industrial power it was. Turin is dedicating more attention to tourism and that makes Turin, and the rest of Piedmont, a great place to visit. Although my experience may not be 360 degrees, if you like to Ski, visit castles turned into hotels and resorts, eat and stay at Agriturismo (farms where you can eat what is produced directly on the farm), or like to visit wineries, Turin is a great place to go.

Over the next weeks I will talk about the Olympics and make a round of the various wines produced in this area. A word about the people from Turin, there is a saying “Torinese falso cortese,” or “Torinese is double faced.” Watch your Ps and Qs.

Tags: Olympics Torino Winter Vacation Skiing Alps Piemonte Travel Italy

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