The pasta. The pasta that changed my life. Seriously.
To be honest, I’ve only known Turin as the host of the Winter Olympics in 2006. Nothing more, nothing less. But now, living in Stuttgart and getting to know a lot of people working in the motor industry, I now know that it’s home of many Italian car companies, including Fiat and Lancia. It was also where I first had pasta with truffle and my life has never been the same. Seriously.
토리노는 2006년 동계 올림픽 개최도시. 그거밖에는 몰랐던 나인데 자동차와 관련된 일을 하는 사람들을 차차 알게 되면서 이탈리아의 대표적인 자동차 도시라는 것을 알게 되었다.
1. Superga
Basilica of Superga is located on the Superga hill, overlooking the entire city. From the city center, it takes around 20 minutes by car, but you can also take a tram that runs up the steep hill, which can perhaps be a more memorable experience. We didn’t have time and already had a rental car, so with the car it was.
Superga’s view does not disappoint. Since it’s already high up on the hill, the trip up the stairs is not much of an ordeal, compared to other places like the Duomo in Milan or the St. Peters in Munich. Apart from touristic reasons, the Superga Basilica is also a famous place to Italy football fans, particularly the Torino football team known as the Il Grande Torino. The entire football team was flying back from Portugal after a friendly match in May 4, 1949, when the plane suddenly crashed to the wall on the back of the basilica, killing everyone onboard. There’s a memorial behind the basilica and it’s quite heartbreaking to see all the letters and photos. I’ve never followed a certain team for any sport, except for the NCAA Jayhawks back when I was living in Kansas. But that was also because I was too young to know what was going on.
The reason why Superga is also so important is because of this. This little pasta place called Trattoria Superga is where you can find pasta with truffle cream sauce. The first time when I had a revelation on a pasta dish was when I had the buccatini in Rome. The second time was here. If you have time for only one meal in Turin, take this.
수페르가. 경치도 경치지만 제일 중요했던 부분은 바로 수페르가 가는 길에 있는 파스타집의 파스타. 송로버섯 크림 파스타를 추천해준 친구의 말을 믿고 가서 먹었는데 충격. 이런 맛은 태어나서 처음. 나중에 피에몬테의 대표적인 송로버섯 중심지 알바에서도 송로버섯 파스타를 먹었지만 최고의 파스타를 꼽자면 바로 여기.
2. Egyptian Museum of Turin
I am a great fan of anything Egypt: movies, the history, books, comic books, manga, scrolls. I’ve never been to Egypt yet, but I’m waiting until it gets safer so I can go dig up a pyramid of my own. Turin has the next best thing: the biggest Egyptian museum outside of Egypt. The Egyptian Museum of Turin was created thanks to Italian diplomat and explorer Bernardino Drovetti’s personal collection during his stay in Egypt as a diplomat.
There’s more than 65,000 artifacts are on display while another 26,000 are in storage. And, of course, the mummies are the most popular, even if they do scare you a bit. The museum also owns three different versions of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, including the most ancient copy known in history. There may be three versions, but normally only one is displayed to the public and the other two stored in the basement, fearing that the ancient books may exude “negative” energy.
이집트에 대한 환상을 가지고 있는 나로써 이집트 박물관은 정말 흥미로웠다. 특히 진짜라고 써져 있지만 설마 진짜일까 계속 의심하게하는 미라들. 미라와 함께 매장하는 사후세계 안내서 두루마리 사자의 서도 세권이나 있다는데 대중에게는 하나만 공개한다고 한다. 물어보니 세 권을 다 한꺼번에 공개하면 “불길한 기운”이 돌까봐라고.
3. Chocolates
Home of hot chocolate? Turin in 1678. There are two chocolate treats to try out when you are in Turin: the gianduiotto and the bicerin.
The gianduitto is a hazelnut chocolate truffle that looks like a little upside down boat and is usually wrapped in a gold or silver tin-foil cover, while the bicerin is a drink made up with espresso, melted chocolate and milk. You can find gianduittos in almost any market or store, while the original bicerin you can try at a small confectioner’s shop called Al Bicerin. The shop is located right next to the cathedral called Santuario della Consolata and serves the popular drink all day. I drank mine like it was any other hot chocolate drink, slowly and savoring every sip, but then the nuns from the cathedral came and drank it like a shot. A swift gulp and they were off.
핫초코의 기원을 물으신다면 바로 토리노. 무려 1678년부터 팔기 시작했다. 초코렛과 관련된 디저트가 많은 도시인데 그 중에서도 유명한 것이 지안두토라고 하는 마치 누텔라로 만든듯한 초코렛과 비체린이라고 하는 초코렛 음료. 알 비체린이라는 작은 가게에서 처음 발명되었고 지금도 여기가 제일 유명하다고 전해져서 가서 먹어봤는데 개인적으로는 맹맹한 초코렛 맛이라 별로라고 생각. 흥미로웠던 것은 앉아있는 동안 가게 바로 옆에 있는 성당에서 온 수녀님들이 하나 둘씩 찾아오셔 원샷으로 들이켰다는 것. 그들에게는 특별한 음료라기보다는 에스프레소처럼 하루의 활력소같은 느낌.
All photos/edits by rachelsanghee. (+) A recap from this.