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LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
GARETH DAVIS
looks after all the editorial content at Travel Channel and
runs the website. So if you've any comments or complaints, he's
the one to get in touch with! He also produces and presents
on the channel, primarily the series THE TRAVEL BUG and THE
TRAVEL CHANNEL GUIDE TO … And when he has a spare minute,
he writes for the travel section of the Sunday Mirror in the
UK.
Two months from now no one will need
to be told where Piemonte is; nothing to do with local corporate
giants Olivetti and Fiat, or even the region's upmarket version
of the nut cluster, Ferrero Rocher. Between February 10 and
26 Turin, capital of northwestern Italy's landlocked pile of
Alpine valleys and crumpled hills, will host the Winter Olympics.
Turin is Italy's second largest industrial city and the one
that gave the country its shortlived royal family, the now defunct
Savoys. But such things are being swept under the proverbial.
Turin hopes she'll win fresh laurels and - fingers crossed!
- cast a shroud over her industrial past and emerge as the gateway
to a winter wonderland that also happens to be one of Italy's
lesser-known but no less beautiful rural landscapes.
It's a tall order. Currently Turin is
somewhere many have barely heard of; a C list city with A list
aspirations. Not that there's anything wrong with that. There's
many a diamond in a dark mine. Whether or not Turin's going
to Cinderella-itself into a must-see destination however is
a different kettle of truffles.
Which brings me to the two bucolic days
I spent in Turin's hinterland. It was October. Autumn had bronzed
the southern hills, the grapes had been picked and winter was
holding its breath in the mountain passes above the Valle Po.
I was in the hills of Le Langhe where the King of Italian Reds,
Barolo, is squeezed rusted and bloody from the vine and fragrant
white truffles fret beneath the soil. They're filthily expensive.
To the south is Liguria, selfishly barring Piemonte's access
to the Med. To the north is Asti, one of the many small towns
that crest the hills and home to that sickly sweet spumante.
This is in fact Tuscany in miniature and there's no better way
of appreciating it than in a helicopter.
Below, the landscape is a patchwork bedspread
of vineyards and red roofed houses. A feudal stampbook of fractured
Duchies, Baronies, and Marquisates - Neive, Barbaresco, Serralunga
d'Alba, Costgliole d'Asti - and over it all you float like a
giant bumblebee. Just one tip; don't get stuck behind the pilot
otherwise all you get is tantalising glimpses of towns and castles
that quickly disappear beneath you. The twenty minute round
trip from Asti costs 500€ for up to five people with Heliwest.
Choosing which town to explore can be
tough but Saluzzo just west of Le Langhe is one of the most
rewarding. It was once the capital of its own Marquisate and
survives as a small steep Renaissance affair that granny'd love
if only every other street had a Stanna. Houses of sepia stone
clamber up cobbles to a castle that's now a prison. The best
of the bunch is Casa Cavassa that doubles up as the Civic Museum.
A 15th century nobleman's palace, there are smatterings of period
furniture and trompe l'oeil walls in what is quite a denuded
exhibit. If like me your bella lingua doesn't extend beyond
menu-speak, the all-Italian information will leave you stymied.
Admission to the museum and tower is €10.
Saluzzo's Rhondda-steep geography will
hone your appetite to meet the artery-assaulting demands of
the local cuisine. It's not something you dip into lightly and
I use "Dip" in its precise sense. Piemonte is the home of bagna
caoda, Italy's take on fondue. The richness of the cooking is
reflected in the fact that cream and butter surprisingly beat
olive oil into third place as chef's fats of choice. And vegetarians
pack a lunchbox. The Piemontese love of meat is such that a
few days in and you'll be eyeing up your own rump.
L'Ostu dij Baloss in Saluzzo smacks of
a typical Italian back home, all tiles and rustic furniture
but the likes of goose breast salad, lamb cutlets, gnocchi,
and veal with spinach replaces spag bol and minestrone. A three
course lunch starts from €26. Piemonte is the home of one
of the most interesting culinary movements I've ever come across.
Slow Food has nothing to do with crap service. Instead, the
movement is a deliberate challenge to the Fast Food culture,
stressing the importance of traditional cooking and farming
methods, and the cultural and material benefits of a proper
and varied diet. Such has been the movements' success that last
year saw the opening of the world's first University of Gastronomic
Sciences in Pollenzo. 60 students launched themselves into the
first gastro degree; thematic field seminars in coffee and cured
meats in Year 1 before moving on to beer in Year 3. Now that's
what I call progress. Equally untypical is the fact that
the Uni has its own 4* hotel and a stunning modern restaurant
that's been open since June 2003. Guido is a showcase of classy
cooking. You immediately know that students in these parts have
evolved beyond pork scratchings and a bag of chips. The restaurant
is situated in a high ceilinged contemporary space of sleek
woods and raw brick. Starters from €16 and mains from €18
are guaranteed to further your oral education.
Del Cambio is in Turin itself. It's been
going since 1757 and the chandeliers, velvet swags, deep pile,
and gilterama do give it the whiff of a stately home. You feel
as if areas should be cordoned off. This is basically a businessmen's
chow house. The menu is rich and seems slightly dated. Probably
something to do with the fact that most dishes are Piemontese
stalwarts like finanzeria, a melee of chicken livers, gizzards,
mushrooms and Marsala wine, and agnolotti del plin, stuffed
pasta with truffle shavings. Starters are from €14 and
mains from €26. Take a rich uncle with you.
So Turin. Back in the Sixties it was nicknamed
Fiatville. Hardly inspiring and there's no denying that away
from its centre the place is one big dreary suburban sprawl
of housing estates but at its historic heart on the west bank
of the River Po, Turin is an elegant, avenued Baroque city that
plays the part of royal seat quite well. There's the Duomo or
Cathedral of course, which periodically displays the city's
eponymous Shroud. Once thought to be a snapshot of Christ mid
cross and cave, it's now known to be a medieval fake. It was
last exhibited in 2000. Afficionados may be interested to know
that it next goes on show in 2025.
For a town that's little talked about
these days, Turin's attracted a surprising number of names in
its time. Puccini, Dumas, and Nietsche all 'woz 'ere. Erasmus
studied at the university. For centuries, the local dukes were
the Savoys. They got their hands on a royal title in 1713, then
the Italian throne in 1860, and when Rome came up for grabs
in 1870, they quickly scarpered and never looked back. Not that
the Savoys left nothing of value behind. Besides the Palazzo
Reale, the royal residence now museum, there's the stunning
Museo Egizio on Via Accademia delle Scienze. That's Egyptian
Museum to you and me. The collection's fairly extensive, the
star of the show being the Turin Canon, one of the most important
kinglists enabling us to patch together ancient Egyptian chronology.
The Canon exhibition is impressive and in Italian and English.
Unfortunately, this nod to bilingualism isn't apparent throughout.
Entry is €6.50.
Another star attraction is the Museo del
Cinema or Cinema Museum. This scores on two counts. Firstly,
the Mole Antonelliana in which it's housed is a visual stunner.
Started in 1863, it was going to be a huge synagogue but money
ran short and the local Jewish community handed it over to the
city in 1877. It's a huge white elephantine structure surmounted
by a 127-metre vault and spire. Inside, the exhibitions are
fantastic, from early photography through to the present day.
The Temple Hall beneath the vault where you can recline and
lose yourself in a light show of starry skies, floating clouds,
and cinema images, is one of the most magical spaces I've ever
seen. Kicks the UK's Museum of Moving Image off the Oscar shelf.
A guidebook is a must and admission to the museum and tower
costs €6.80.
Having been so impressed, for once I have
to say that the gay offerings are slightly disappointing. There's
little on offer in Turin but whereas in other destinations,
the little there is is compact and friendly, here it's spread
out and slightly so superior. Ok, this is Italy. One thing to
be wary of is the restaurant Il Pensiero on Via Bagnasco. This
is advertised as a gay eatery on a number of websites. One,
it's a cab ride from the city centre; two, it's very family
oriented (lots of kids); three, it's a basic local formica and
lino combo serving pizzas and pasta in high rise land; four,
TVs dotted around the wall play non-stop sport,; and five, it's
100% non-smoking. I don't think I really need to give you my
opinion, do I?
Having schlepped back into town, bars
and clubs are basically one of each. Il Male on Via Lombardore
is more pub than bar. What a lot of men I thought, particularly
around the pool table. No, those'll be lesbians with a few scared
queens scattered inbetween. The atmosphere however was relaxed
and fun. Notorious on Via Stradella is the club; a big, bouncy
venue, all bopping and shopping with a very young crowd. Didn't
mind it, though I did feel slightly awkward trying to get a
drink with my pension book at the bar. €5 is the going
rate for a spirit and mixer at both venues. Notorious charges
€15 on the door but you get a free drink.
In all honesty I've never been one for
the whole rural thing. In fact, I find landscape seriously underwhelming.
Something to do with 18 years growing up in the middle of nowhere
in Wales - yes, I've paid my debt to society. So Piemonte, the
country bit, was never going to be my tasse du thé. But
Turin also left me slightly disappointed. Not the city itself
which I enjoyed very much but certainly the gay scene. Turin
is a relative unknown and it's only hoped this winter's games
will shed a little light on this Italian bushel.
To find out more about Turin visit
To find out more about Piemonte visit 
To find out more about the Winter Olympics
visit
www.torino2006.org
To find out more about Le Langhe visit
www.realaisanmaurizio.it
To find out more about the Hotel Sitea
visit
www.sitea.thi.it
What do you think of Turin? I'd love to
hear any advice you may have DROP
ME A LINE
November 2005 |