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The gianduiotto is still produced today following traditional methods. The main ingredients are:

• Cocoa
• Sugar
• Hazelnuts from the Langhe, preferably the “Tonda Gentile delle Langhe” variety

These hazelnuts are roasted and finely ground into a creamy paste that is mixed with cocoa and sugar. The resulting paste is then molded into the characteristic triangular shape.

The gianduiotto has become a symbol of Turin and its chocolate-making tradition.

It is closely associated with the Carnival mask “Gianduja”, a popular character from the Piedmontese commedia dell’arte, representing cheerfulness and kindness. This association has helped root the gianduiotto in the culture and traditions of Turin.

Turin is famous for its excellent artisanal chocolate shops, many of which are renowned for producing gianduiotti. Here are some of the best artisanal chocolate shops in Turin worth visiting:

1. Guido Gobino (Via Lagrange 1, 10123 Turin)
Guido Gobino is one of the most famous chocolate shops in Turin. Known for its attention to the quality of raw materials and innovation in production techniques, Gobino offers a wide range of chocolates, including its famous gianduiotti. Their version of gianduiotto features a high percentage of Langhe hazelnuts

2. Peyrano (Corso Moncalieri 47, 10133 Turin)
Peyrano is a historic name in the Turin chocolate scene. Founded in 1915, this chocolate shop is known for its tradition and the quality of its products. Peyrano’s gianduiotti are appreciated for their delicacy and balanced taste.

3. Caffarel (Via Gianavello 41, 10062 Luserna San Giovanni, Turin)
Caffarel is one of the oldest Italian chocolate companies, founded in 1826. Although it is now a globally recognized brand, it continues to produce gianduiotti using traditional methods. Caffarel is particularly famous for contributing to the invention of the gianduiotto.

4. Giacosa (Via Giuseppe Luigi Lagrange 34, 10123 Turin)
Giacosa is an artisanal chocolate shop that combines tradition and innovation. With a wide range of high-quality products, Giacosa’s gianduiotti are highly appreciated for their authentic flavor and creamy texture.

5. Avidano (Piazza Cavour 17, 10024 Moncalieri, Turin)
Avidano is another excellent artisanal chocolate shop in Turin. Founded in 1956, Avidano stands out for its use of high-quality ingredients and attention to detail. Their gianduiotti are made with top-quality Piedmontese hazelnuts and high-quality cocoa.

6. Cioccolateria Piemontese (Corso Regina Margherita 151, 10122 Turin)
Specializing in artisanal chocolate, this chocolate shop offers a wide range of chocolates, including traditional gianduiotti. The quality of the ingredients and artisanal processing make their products particularly valuable.

These chocolate shops represent the best of Turin’s chocolate-making tradition and offer visitors the chance to taste authentic artisanal gianduiotti, made with passion and attention to detail. If you are a chocolate lover, these shops will offer you delicious and unique experiences, making your visit to Turin even more special! What are you waiting for?

See you next time!

Alta Langa wine is an oenological gem that deserves to be discovered and appreciated. Its quality makes it an undisputed protagonist of the Piedmontese wine scene. If you are a lover of sparkling wines, you cannot miss the opportunity to taste an Alta Langa and be fascinated by its elegance and complexity.

These wineries represent some of the best options for buying a bottle of Alta Langa.

Each has its own interpretation of this sparkling wine, offering a range of flavors and aromas that will satisfy even the most discerning palates.

Until next time!

Let’s start by dwelling on the legendary historic cafes that not only offer high quality food and drinks, but also a dip into the past, an atmosphere steeped in history and culture, allowing for a unique and fascinating experience in the beautiful setting of Turin.

• Caffè Torino: Located in Piazza San Carlo, this café is one of the oldest in the city, open since 1903. It is known for its elegant décor and refined atmosphere.
• Caffè Mulassano: founded in 1879 and located in Piazza Castello, it is famous for inventing the tramezzino. The Art Nouveau interior is a real gem.
• Caffè Fiorio: opened in 1780 on Via Po, it was a favorite haunt of nobles, intellectuals and politicians of the time. Fiorio’s ice cream is particularly renowned.
• Caffè Al Bicerin: founded in 1763 and located in Piazza della Consolata, it is famous for its Bicerin, a hot drink made with coffee, chocolate and milk cream. Cavour was also a frequent visitor.
• Caffè San Carlo: Located in Piazza San Carlo, this café dates back to 1822 and offers a refined ambience with frescoes and elegant decorations. It was frequented by illustrious figures such as Nietzsche.
• Café Platti: on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, this café opened in 1870 and has an elegant and cozy atmosphere. It was a meeting place for intellectuals and artists.

Let’s move on to small craft stores, shall we? Turin has a long tradition of craftsmanship, and visiting its historic workshops is a wonderful way to discover local authenticity and craftsmanship. Here are a few not to be missed:

And now let’s move on to a must-do tour, a treat outside of everything you already know and learn about Turin: The secret, underground Turin!
Torino Sotterranea is a fascinating tour that allows you to discover the hidden and lesser-known side of the city. It is a guided itinerary that will take you through a network of tunnels, secret passages, catacombs and air raid shelters located under the streets and buildings of Turin.
Many of the underground tunnels date back to Roman times and were initially created as aqueducts; they evolved over the centuries: in the Middle Ages and Renaissance they were used for military and defense purposes. Turin was a fortified city, and the undergrounds offered safe routes for secret travel. During World War II many of these structures were adapted as air raid shelters to protect against bombing and remain a poignant testimony.
The main points of this tour are definitely:

Tours last about 3 hours and offer a mysterious and fascinating atmosphere, with soft lighting and historic settings that will transport you back in time.
Tours are usually organized by local tour agencies and it is advisable to book in advance, especially during busy tourist periods.
One of the most reputable tour operators offering the Underground Turin tour is Somewhere Tour & Events. This operator offers a detailed and fascinating experience of the city’s underground with its expert guides who will provide you with an engaging and impactful narrative.
You can book online through their website or contact them for more information and availability.
Phone: +39 011 668 0580
E-mail: info@somewhere.it
Address: Via Po, 45, 10124 Turin
I recommend booking in advance, wearing comfortable shoes and bringing a jacket…underground temperatures can be slightly cooler 😊

Santo Stefano Belbo, which in 2008 celebrated the centenary of the writer’s birth, is closely tied to Cesare Pavese. Here we find his birthplace, which today houses his letters, books, photographs, reviews of his books, and theses from around the world, and the workshop of his friend, the carpenter Nuto. Very little remains of that Santo Stefano Belbo, the one described in “The Moon and the Bonfires”: a few houses and the Belbo river, which ceaselessly divides the two hills of Gaminella and Salto, where Pavese used to swim as a boy.

Visit the ancient and first parish church of Saints James and Christopher, dating back to the 14th century; nearby is the Cesare Pavese Study Center with an annexed library where his works can be consulted in reading rooms and through audiovisuals.

This is one of the most renowned areas for Moscato, a territory that spans 52 municipalities in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti, and Alessandria. Here, a Moscato with an aroma of excellent finesse and intensity is produced.

A tip for you: if you want to taste a memorable Alta Langa, go to the Marcalberto Winery and let me know what your taste buds tell you!

While Pavese traveled across Italy for life and work, Beppe Fenoglio, author of one of the finest novels of 20th-century Italian literature, La Malora, remained tied for life to Alba, his hometown. The partisan Johnny longed for its red roofs while fighting in the woods that kept him away.

For Fenoglio, the Tanaro river, Murazzano, San Benedetto Belbo, and Bossolasco are childhood places and the stage for his stories. They are the myth, the roots, the land.

One of the quintessential Fenoglian places is San Bovo di Castino, the Cascina del Pavaglione. This farmhouse, which serves as the backdrop for “La Malora”, has become, over time, an archetype that encapsulates that feeling of despair, poverty, resignation, the hardship of daily life: the feeling of a generation, his generation. Fenoglio deserves credit for having been able to give voice to it through the stories of his characters.

Besides Pavaglione, which takes us back to the days of La Malora, you can follow in the footsteps of “partisan Johnny” by visiting Mango and its surroundings; you can move to Murazzano where you will find the Beppe Fenoglio Literary Park; or retrace the path of Agostino, the protagonist of La Malora, and reach San Benedetto Belbo.

Looking at this Langa today, with its renowned wines, restored farmhouses, enogastronomic tourism, truffles, a dynamic and certainly enterprising Langa, a land of widespread wealth… it seems impossible that only a few decades ago it could have coincided with a depressed, harsh territory, difficult to live and work in, vividly described by Fenoglio in all his works.

With stones recovered in laborious paths from the rivers, they built warm and welcoming stone houses that are the pride of rural architecture.

Enchanting and endless panoramas take you through its valleys and invite you to look up where small villages dominate the infinity with their towers and fortresses; in the background, the Alps!

Whatever route you decide to take, Alta Langa is a natural amphitheater dotted with entire stone hamlets brightened by the red of the roof tiles.

Not yet beaten by mass tourism, Alta Langa is the ideal place for stays in nature, greenery, and relaxation, and definitely invites slow and reflective tourism.

Every community contributes to the biodiversity and cultural richness of the Union, creating a unique matrix of stories and landscapes.

One of the most interesting projects highlighting the sustainability of the Unione Montana dell’Alta Langa is certainly “BlossomingCities,” where the focus is on protecting pollinators, the guardian angels of biodiversity and pillars of agricultural production.

Consider that 75% of the world’s major food crops and 85% of wild plants depend on insect pollinators! As we all know, many pollinator species are undergoing drastic declines, and the loss and degradation of natural habitats are just some of the factors of this decline; urbanization and the lack of green areas are considered one of the main threats. Among the project’s partners: the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Institute for the Promotion and Certification of Agri-Food Products, the Center for Research and Technology in Aragon, and the University of Daugavpils.

Alta Langa, with its invaluable heritage of nature, culture, and tradition, will lead you to explore it with the same slowness with which it has evolved. It is an invitation to rediscover, among its villages and landscapes, that human and earthly connection that daily noise tends to make us forget. If you seek an experience that nourishes the soul and awakens the senses, Alta Langa is waiting to be discovered!

It’s difficult, very difficult, but if you manage to book a table at Cesare https://ristorantedacesare.it/ , Cesare Giaccone…like James Bond! Today it’s easy to tell the poetry of noble wines and renowned cuisine, but none of what is now Langa would have existed without him, the gruff but authentic trailblazer. Since 1981, when he finally returned home after a thousand experiences and torments, his fame has become as solid as stone, his name a legend.

We have already talked about it extensively. But I’ll give you two tips here as well! If you want to buy hazelnuts, a stone’s throw from Cascina Facelli, you will find the Azienda Agricola Casa vecchia. https://www.casavecchia1846.it/

If you want to eat not just well, but very well!… Drogheria di Langa is the place for you: excellent wine list, unparalleled kindness, carefully prepared but genuine food, and, to top it off, an environment attentive to the smallest details, a small jewel in the center of the town https://www.drogheriadilanga.it/

The village dairy, Cascina Abate, http://www.bossolascolanghe.it/abate/index.html

will amaze you with its excellent cheeses! Bring a cooler bag, they even vacuum pack them for you 😉

The “stone village”! All the houses have been restored using sandstone and even the asphalt has been replaced. It is a true open-air contemporary art gallery https://www.comune.bergolo.cn.it/Eventi the village, in fact, boasts dozens of artworks left by artists on the facades of buildings and in the most hidden and evocative corners. It is the smallest municipality in Italy to earn the orange flag, a tourist-environmental quality recognition awarded by the Italian Touring Club. The renaissance occurred around 1970 and was a real gamble. Surely the characteristic tenacity of the old “Langhetti” made it a major tourist destination. Bergolo is also part of the Authentic Villages of Italy, a network of 10 municipalities that have decided to make themselves known and appreciated for their environmental sustainability policies. Do not miss two historical-artistic testimonies of particular importance: the Romanesque chapel of San Sebastiano (12th century) and the parish church (17th century).

The Romanesque Chapel of San Sebastiano, located in the cemetery, is also worth a visit! It is a place of extraordinary scenic beauty.

A highly evocative panoramic space is the “Ezra Pound Memorial”, established in 2003, Nine stones painted by artist Beppe Schiavetta, in a green meadow, bounded, chase each other in memory of the poet.

If during your wanderings you pass by here, stop at Cascina Azii https://cascinaazii.it/. You will throw away your suitcases and fill your trunk with their handcrafted hazelnut-based sweets.