I never spent much time in Turin, because I knew it only for the FIAT auto industry, and the Shroud of Turin. 
This author finds other delights that might compare favorably with other large European Cities, but wouldn't even make my top 25 list in Italy. 

Torino, Italy, is a Joy to Explore
ST. Louis Post Dispatch; By Gail Pennington; Sunday, May. 02 2010

TORINO, ITALY -- More than 2 million people are streaming into Torino, this spring to get a look at what may be the world's most famous strip of cloth.

But the Shroud of Turin, which hadn't been displayed for a decade and will be put away again on May 23, is far from the only reason to visit beautiful, fascinating Torino, one of Italy's secret treasures.

Dating to Roman times, Torino — or Turin — was the seat of power of the dukes of Savoy for three centuries and the first capitol of the united Italy in 1861. When the government moved south, Torino reinvented itself as an auto-making metropolis. (It's the "t" in Fiat.)

The auto industry remains the region's economic engine, but today it chugs along well outside the historic center of Torino, a graceful city of wide boulevards and expansive piazzas filled with statues and fountains. (Parking is underground.) Boutiques nestle behind the arches of elegant arcades, and ancient brick streets hide charming cafes and chocolate shops.

The capital of the Piedmont region in northwestern Italy, framed on three sides by the Alps, Torino was host to the 2004 Winter Olympics. But despite that international spotlight, the city of more than 1 million remains mostly undiscovered by American visitors. And that's too bad.

In March, joining my niece, who is studying for a semester in Italy, I spent two days in Torino and wished I'd had much longer.

Two days was hardly long enough to soak up the city's beauty, and one afternoon certainly wasn't long enough to appreciate the Chocopass.

Ah, the Chocopass. Torino might not have invented chocolate (although by some accounts the Torinese did create solid chocolate and teach the Swiss how to make it), but the confection is an art here. Most years, a spring festival called CioccolaTO celebrates everything chocolate, but no matter when you're in town, you won't lack for chocolate.

Chilly? Order cioccolato caldo, hot chocolate so thick and rich that it's more like chocolate pudding fresh off the stove. Need a pick-me-up? The bicerin, the signature drink of Torino, layers espresso, hot chocolate and cream in a clear glass. You can even enjoy the drink at tiny Al Bicerin, which invented it in the 1800s.

Half the shops in Torino seem to sell chocolates, and in spring, their windows are full of elaborate Easter eggs. The signature candy of Torino is gianduiotti, a supremely silky blend of chocolate and hazelnut.

Sample a lot of chocolate, and see Torino in the process, with the Chocopass, good for 10 samples at 10 shops. The booklet includes a map that will take you around town and let you burn off a few choco-calories at the same time. Don't forget to look up as you search for chocolate, though. The architecture of Torino is magnificent, including fragments of Roman walls (we saw one in a parking garage), royal palaces and soaring churches. 

Our itinerary ranged from the sublime to the shabby to the sacred to the savory.

— La Venaria, a huge palace complex built by Duke of Savoy Carlo Emanuele II in the 1600s, once included not just the royal residence, conceived as the greatest hunting lodge imaginable, but vast gardens and a village. But in the 19th century, the baroque palace was used as military headquarters, then looted.

Now, after a 10-year, $340 million restoration, it's easy to believe that La Venaria inspired an envious Louis XIV of France to build Versailles. The palace is about 6 miles outside Torino; get there by express bus or join a tour (ask at the tourist office).

— Porto Palazzo, the largest open-air market in Europe, opens at 6 a.m. every day. Shoppers can buy blood oranges from Sicily, cheese from the Alps, knockoff designer sunglasses, silver satin high heels or huge bunches of sunflowers. The foods are the highest quality; the other merchandise, not so much.

— The Cathedral of Superga, high atop a hill just outside Torino, is notable for its view of the Alps, if the clouds cooperate. (They did not for us.) But the Torinese also visit the church to pay homage to the 1949 Torino football team, wiped out when the team plane crashed into the hillside. Train buffs can take the Sassi-Superga chain railway up.

— Eataly, an enormous, high-end market and restaurant complex, is a stunning experience for foodies. The best of everything is here: bread and pasta, meat and fish, wine and beer, candy and cakes and gelato. Each area also provides a place to sit down and eat — a sushi bar with fish, a sandwich bar with bread and so on. After years of discussion, an Eataly has been announced for New York City, but that shouldn't rule out planning a pilgrimage to the original in Torino.

Lingotto Fiere, across the way from Eataly is the one of the first Fiat plants, converted into a cultural center with a movie theater, boutiques and the Agnelli Foundation art museum. The test track atop the building and the ramps that once brought cars down have been left in place, looking like modern art.

Depending on your taste, must-sees in Torino also include:

— The Museum of the Cinema, 3,200 square feet on five floors, celebrating the motion pictures of Italy and the world. It's inside the 19th-century Mole Antonelliana, the symbol of Torino. Take the elevator up for an outstanding view of the city and, if you're lucky, the Alps.

— Palazzo Reale, the royal seat of the House of Savoy from 1660 until 1885, with beautiful furnishings and spectacular crystal chandeliers, and Palazzo Madama, built out from a 13th-century castle.

— The Egyptian Museum, which bills itself as the only museum outside Cairo dedicated solely to Egyptian art and culture.

— The Chapel of the Shroud, inside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, where a space-age case houses and protects the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. When it's not on display, visitors are allowed to pray outside the alcove in which the case is stored. The Holy Shroud Museum in the church of S.S. Sudario details the history of the shroud and shows a real-size photocopy.

As for eating and drinking in Torino, it's hard to strike out. But we swung for the fences, dining at Il Bastian Contrario, famous for its 69 antipasti (yes, we counted) — and this before two pastas, a meat course and dessert. Everything was delicious, but we especially enjoyed the pecorino cheese with honey and walnuts and the fresh pasta with shaved truffles.

Another good place to eat in Torino is the Quadrilatero Romano, just north of Piazza Castello. Many of the cobbled streets in the neighborhood, in the oldest part of the city, are closed to cars and are filled with small restaurants and outdoor cafes as well as clubs

If you do visit Torino, be sure to bring home plenty of chocolate. Eat some at bedtime and you'll dream of a return trip.

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