August in Turin

Before the 2008 economical crisis Turin, just like any other Italian city looked deserted, especially on August 15 or Ferragosto!

To get a better idea of what this all Italian Mid-August phenomenon is like, and especially if you love the Italian culture and language, we invite you all to watch The Mid-August Lunch:

Royal freetime around Turin

Today, our royal palace quest brings us to Venaria, Turin's northern suburb where there is La Venaria Reale or the Royal Palace of Venaria and to Stupinigi, in the southern suburb, where there is La Palazzina di Caccia or the Savoy hunting lodge.

The Royal Palace of Venaria

Venaria aka Turin's Versailles

Piedmont equals wines, castles and chocolate, we'll never get tired to repeat it, and wherever you are in our beautiful region, you'll always enjoy our rich and velvety chocolate and our wines will get an extra flavor when sipped in one of our castles.

What about Turin, then? Do we have castles and vineyards here too?? Actually yes, we do!

In fact, Turin's vineyard at Villa della Regina - the Queen's Villa is the largest European urban vineyard, and we also have a teeny tiny one, right in the historical city center, in Piazza Emanuele Filiberto, as part of a local green project of urban farming.

As for castles, we have quite a number, both in Turin and in the suburb; simply put, since the 16th century, our kings enjoyed their lives and the area so much, they had different palaces for different occasions, and definitely, one of the most spectacular is the Royal Palace of Venaria.