Torino
“Piano, piano”
I’ve wanted to visit Turin for what feels like forever. This northern Italian city, is the capital of Piedmont.
Turin is also the home of SLOW. Have you heard of the SLOW movement?
Slow Food was started by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in the 1980s. The aim was preserve regional traditions, good food (not mass produced) and a slow pace of life. Petrini campaigned against fast-food chain McDonald’s opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome in 1986.
The slow food movement’s philosophy is not just about taking more time to prepare and eat good food. It’s also about highlighting where food comes from and how it’s produced. It actively supports local food producers who utilise environmentally friendly agricultural methods.
Over time the moment developed further, recognising the strong connections between plate, planet, people, politics and culture. And today Slow Food represents a global movement involving multiple projects and millions of people in over 160 countries worldwide.
We enjoyed five, leisurely days meandering around this great, northern city and embracing deliciousness. And what better way to discover this slow city but on foot? Slowly.
We spent several hours at the National Museum of Cinema, a must visit for any film fanatic. From the top of the Mole Antonnelliana building we could see far across the city, with freshly fallen snow on the mountains of Gran Paradiso National Park.
Displayed in the windows of cafes and Pastericerria shops across the city are “Bugie” (Lies), a special pastry. Piedmont has its particular version. The Bugie are made with a mixture of water, flour and sugar, before alcohol is added. In the Piedmontese tradition it is very common to use Moscato d’Asti. The dough is cut into strips and fried in hot oil, then covered with powdered sugar. The Piedmontese Bugie were perfect with my cappuccino.
And then there was the Cioccolato. It’s everywhere in Turin. Torino is the capital of chocolate in Italia. So for five days we have meandered the streets of this northern Italian city and enjoyed chocolate at old cafes and speciality shops in all it’s forms; milk, dark, hot, in cake, biscotti. You name it, we ate it!
On our last morning in Turin we received the very sad news that a good friend had passed away. As we left this ancient city I thought of him. And I thought of life, how precious our time is in this wonderful world.
Take the journeys. Enjoy it all. And make the most of every day.
Have you visited a SLOW city or somewhere connected to the SLOW movement?
© Maggie M / Mother City Time