Last day! Linger over breakfast at the hotel cafe, then take the car to Castello di Rivoli, a manor house (so royal) remodeled as Torino’s finest contemporary art venue with Sol LeWitt, Rebecca Horn and Tony Cragg! Dinner has to be at Combal.O (Combal punto zero), the signature restaurant guided by Michelin starred Davide Scabin. The cyber egg is caviar, black pepper, egg yolk, vodka and other goodies ina shiny gelatine shell punctured by a scalpel (yes!) and gulped down. head back to town for the sindone (Shroud of Turin) which is not on display until 2025 at the 15th century San Giovanni cathedral. You could see a reproduction though. The renaissance facade is austere with ancient gravestones and a great triptych in the second chapel of the right aisle. Just outside is the Roman gate tower and ruined teatro, remnants of the original Roman settlemen of Augusta Taurinorum, founded by Julius Cesar. Tour the Piazza della Repubblica, Europe’s largest open air market, to visit Bicerin for a warm melange of blended espresso and drinking chocolate sipped through a cloud of whipping creme while you choose a delicious hot hot freshly baked cookie handed to you. Step across the square into Santuario della Consolata to see several ex votos, naif paintings thanking the Virgin mary for salvation from shipwrecks, oxcart crashes, falls from EuroDisney rides and other assorted mishaps. Explore the Quadrilateralo Romano, renovated for the 2006 Olympics. Autopsia Vestimentaire shows of avant-garde imaginative designer clothes. Aperitivo time (already?) at Pastis, posh as a Left Bank bistro, for a Punt e Mes vermouth with an orange slice and, of course, loads of hors d’oeuvres. Cab it to Antiche Sere where Antonella Rosa runs her old-styled tratorria with amazing desserts like the panna cotta, a creme caramel rich enough to warrant a warning label.
Tomorrow, we’re off to Asti baby!
red and the stunning desserts (the panna
