Why Turin or Piedmont?

It is officially spring 🌷 in Turin too where we have just finished the Special Winter Olympic Games and are now in full Easter mood with bakeries, pastry shops and grocery stores full of huge chocolate Easter eggs and our traditional dove cake.
Because many people are planning their summer trips and more are considering moving over to Turin, or Piedmont anyway, today we are sharing some of our considerations for travelers, movers and students.

For more resources, at the bottom of this post 👇we linked all our Social Network accounts. On Instagram and Facebook we do daily stories so you can get a real life impression of our vidaroyal 👑 and on our YouTube channel you'll find some sample Italian, yoga and pilates classes, and many other videos.

Mimosa cakes in Turin for the International Women's Day on March8th

Why Turin or Piedmont for your new life or visit?

Even though Turin was the very first capital of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861, thus this is where the Italian national sense started, you should pick Turin because it is still a pretty much unknown area, and you won't meet hordes of foreigner tourists. Its authenticity is the perfect blend of deep Italian style within our European dimension.

Like Paris, Madrid, London and Berlin, Turin has many museums, concert halls, theaters and tons of cultural events organized all year long. Here you'll get bored only if you choose to 😆

The longer you'll spend in Turin, the more you'll discover, and the more you'll want to stay and fill up your soul.

Basic Turin Travel Tips here 

What are the insider's tricks?

Choose a place downtown or on the subway line!

This is what we tell everyone! Why?

Because in Turin, people walk a lot!! More than in any other Italian city. To be fair, Turin has an inner elegance you can't help but fall for right away. Going to school or to work, running errands makes you love and discover Turin even more.

Naturally, there is a nice public transit system, but the recent cuts and works make the waiting times and rides long. If you can just use the subway or walk, then you won't really need a car, nor a bike. In fact, like anywhere else in Italy, riding a bike or a scooter isn't that safe and we never recommend it.

Once you live downtown, you'll be close to one of the many nightlife areas, you'll be near a hospital in case of emergency, and k-12 schools are among the best in town.

Part 1 here

Cit Turin aka the Turin Art Nouveau hood

Working in Italy

Italy is the sweetest place if you can work from home, or long distance, getting paid from another country, or if you can freelance. This will allow you a stronger buying power and many opportunities to enjoy your new (temporary ?) country.
As a non-resident, getting hired is rather hard and Italian salaries haven't been raised in over 20 years.
You can build your own business but we recommend you investigate all regulations and find trustworthy professionals to advise you for taxes and bureaucracy are an intricate maze.

3 Travel tips for Turin here

Retiring in Turin

Turin is a very easy town to move to: each neighborhood has its daily market, different high level hospitals, many pharmacies where you can get directed to both public and private doctors whose cabinets will be around the corner, and everything can pretty much be within a walking distance.

Shopping online is now rather customary and you can get your groceries and restaurant orders delivered too. In the grocery stores downtown, sales assistants can speak English but in most specialty shops and in all public offices, you will still need to speak Italian.

All in all, Turin and Piedmont offer great living conditions in terms of climate and quality of life. In Turin, the healthcare standards are better than in the wine country hamlets or in the Alps, simply because many smaller hospitals were closed. Also if you choose to live outside town, you will need a car and we recommend you build your network of emergency contacts who can help you in case of a medical need.

1 day trips from Turin here

What about college or university?

If you are considering pursuing an undergrad degree in Turin, know that the university of Turin is among the oldest in Europe and Erasmus of Rotterdam was the first foreign student here in 1506 where he got his doctorate in Divinity.
In Turin, the university level courses are offered at:

- the University of Turin - all schools but: 
- the Polytechnic University for both School of Engineer and School of Architecture  
- the Fine Arts Academy

These are all public educational institutions everybody can apply to, there is no pre-med, pre-vet or pre-law as right after high school, you directly register in the school of your choice (med, law, engineering) or you apply for the entrance test (veterinary school). Most courses are taught in Italian, but at the Polytechnic University there is a double curriculum taught in English.

In most schools there are no entrance tests but we highly encourage everyone planning on living in Italy to learn Italian and get familiar with the local culture. Do your homework well before coming over! For example, the Medicine School has a selection in terms of what students can keep studying, after the first year. Also many classes aren't downtown and you may need to carpool.

There are also private educational institutions offering college level classes, like:

- IED, European Design Institute
- IAAD, Institute of Applied Art and Design  
- SAA, Management School
- Interpreter and Translator School 

Unlike most universities in many countries, and like most Italian things, you will have to know how to find information in order to navigate the Italian system, survive and thrive. For here there aren't academic advisors, the office of international services for international students isn't as efficient as in other countries, there isn't a campus, nor student activities. 

The landing is tough for native Italians too but... keep your eyes on your goal because some of the advantages of getting an Italian college degree are:

- only 3 years of undergrad education
- cheap university fees compared to the USA
- a solid Schengen education with a degree recognized in the EU and abroad, making it very easy to apply for grad school in other countries. 

Turin travel FAQS here

Cost of living

Compared to other Northern Italian cities, Turin and Piedmont are cheaper but compared to central and Southern Italy, living in the Northwest is more expensive.

Up here you won't find any decaying 1€ houses you can renovate like you see on HGTV, but many properties for sale do need some renovation work. At the same time, you won't find houses out of the grid and if you choose to purchase an apartment in an historical building, your renovation project may have some limits to preserve its original structure and materials, like floors, walls, windows and ceilings.

Food and wine are the top Italian priority therefore fresh produce, fruit, cheeses, meats and fish are cheap compared to many other countries and our local quality is extremely high, also compared to other Italian regions.
Eating out can be expensive for the local standards but it is still cheaper than in all touristy destinations.

Over the years, the very diverse international community of Turin has given birth to many ethnic restaurants, so if you are craving Persian, Brazilian, Greek, Malaysian, Argentinian, Balinese or Mexican food, besides the more common Chinese and Japanese restaurants, you'll be happy here!

Some pricetags in Turin:

• an espresso drunk standing up at the counter is 1.50€
• A two flavor artisan gelato cone is 3.50€
• 6 pasteurized eggs: 2.55€
• 1L/ 0.26 gallon milk is 1.70€ 
• 1L / 0.26 gallon EVOO is 15€

Most coffee shop offer a lunch menu for about 15€ av.

More Turin Travel Tips here

picture taken in December 2024

What you won't do in Turin or Piedmont

You won't eat early: 11am and 5pm are for cappuccino, at 6pm aperitif time starts.

You won't bulk shop to save, even only for lack of storage in your apartment. 

You won't shop with coupons, but if you have the store card, sometimes, some grocery stores have specials on some items. 

You won't commonly find A/C in apartments and schools. 

River Po near Piazza Vittorio

📧E-mail Lucia: turinepi@gmail.com 

to book your: private tours, tastings, private classes, concierge, consulting and relocation services.

Turin has the magic of a movie set but it is all real: come live the movie of your life!

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moving to Turin or Piedmont

Our February means: Carnival 👯, Valentine's Day 🌹, the Turin Wine Salon (Feb 24- Mar 3) 🍷 approaching together with the Turin Chocolate Festival (Feb 27 - Mar 2) 🍫basically a short but intense month that honestly, this year, has been feeling more like a whole year!

So, if you need something to distract your mind and to help you visualize a different life, this is the post for you! Whether you are thinking about a short break or a trip to Italy, or if the idea of moving over is tickling you, we are going to give you some good points to support your project!

Merchants, gold and calendar

Like a Russian doll, the longer you'll spend in Turin, the more she will amaze you with a crescendo of surprises.
Most people are totally unaware of what Turin holds; a few know about Juventus (one of our two soccer teams); some are familiar with her industrial past thanks to FIAT, but only wine and culinary professionals can easily put her on the map. And yet, Turin has always occupied a very distinctive spot in the European map. 

Thanks to her central position, for over ten centuries, Turin has created a broad network of cultural and economical connections, granting her a privileged relationship with the European royal courts and the commoners who quickly integrated her name in their own language. This is why Turin has the same spelling in most languages.

At the European level, Turin has always been synonym of refinement in many domains, from art to technology, from education to economy, but especially agriculture and industrial innovation. This is how she won many nicknames like the Philadelphia, the Paris, the MoTown and the Chicago (because we have famous bulls too!) of Italy and her legacy is visible all around town from the university founded in 1404 to her many churches, especially the Chapel of Merchants, Shop Keepers and Bankers! 

This is a stunning Roman Catholic church following the usual Turin rule: unassuming from its façade and majestic when you enter. Renovated in 2017, this Baroque church is fully gilded and literally glistens during the service. 

Thanks to its excellent acoustics, it is also often used as a concert hall.

Located in Via Garibaldi 52, it was commissioned by the guild of merchants, shopkeepers and bankers as a place to pray and network; finally, in 1692 it was inaugurated. Interestingly, its decorations are about the Epiphany or the manifestation of Christ to the powerful people on earth. Consequently, this church celebrates January 6th - the Epiphany Day, as its official holiday.

Most paintings and decorations date back to the late 17th - early 18th centuries: all the paintings in the main hall are about the three wisemen visiting the baby Jesus, and they alternate along the walls, with statues of saints and popes.

In 1695, the beautiful fresco on the vault was completed with its representation of the Paradise, the prophets, the sybils (female seers who could foretell the coming of Christ) and episodes from the Bible.

Behind the 1797 altar and at both sides, there are two reliquaries and three paintings about the nativity, the adoration of the kings and the flight into Egypt.

Facing the altar on the opposite wall there is a 1700 pipe organ.

This Baroque church is definitely stunning on its own but the real gem is actually the sacristy aka 'the priest's locker room'- where the priest gets ready for the service.

Here you can see an altar piece about the Adoration of the Magi, different antique pieces of furniture like a small throne (1792), a 1712 closet, many religious objects, the archive of the guild and the perpetual calendar!

This perpetual calendar is a 1700 computer: a machine that perfectly calculates all the calendar information for 4000 years starting on year 0. The calculation of the lunations, days of the week and Christian holidays is extremely precise too.

Follow the yellow brick road to Turin, amici, get in touch with Lucia 📧 turinepi@gmail.com 

to plan your travel with all the insider's information you need to make the most of your time in Torino, Piedmont and Italy but especially, to book your private tours, tastings and private classes.

We recommend you:
- devote a whole week to discover Turin and her many gems, 
- land at TRN ✈ and 
- travel with an empty suitcase to stock up on all our local products🎁: art, wines, chocolates, cookies, candies, cashmere, and souvenirs just to tickle your fantasy 😜

Turin will amaze you!

2025 chocolate year

In 2024, Turin Epicurean Capital turned 10 🎆 and we feel very privileged to have grown so much thanks to you who keep supporting us online and in real life 🙏 

May 2025 be a very productive and positive year for you all, as for us in Turin it set to be the year of chocolate 🎇

Get ready and budget at least 5 days here because they will be packed with museums, concerts, shops, food and wine, you will still leave craving to come back for more 😍

Piazza Castello

Lidia Poët tours

Many are the perks of living in Turin and many are the brands founded here and famous all over the world. Turin also holds many records as well as many interesting people who changed Italy and the world.

If you subscribe to Netflix, after Astrological Guide For Broken Hearts,  you can now enjoy season 2 of another series set and filmed in Turin - a real love letter to the city: The Law of Lidia Poët about the very first lady lawyer of Europe!

Season 1

Panna cotta = Piedmont

P = Piedmont panna cotta

a traditional registered recipe since 2001

Let's be real... who doesn't like panna cotta?? Simple and versatile, it's a world wide people pleaser from Piedmont!

Panna cotta literally means cooked cream, and we mean heavy whipping cream. This is because according to the registered traditional recipe here in Piedmont, NW Italy, you make it by cooking heavy whipping cream with sugar, vanilla or a citrus peel, and by adding gelatin. This is the very basic recipe you can serve with fresh fruit, coulis, natural syrups, chocolate and / or coffee sauce. 

Keep reading for our recipe.

Different versions of panna cotta have been around in Europe since at the very least 1244 when Henrik Harpestræg, a Danish doctor who had studied in Sicily, included in one of his books moos hwit - a dessert almost identical to panna cotta.

Even though, up to the 1960s there is no mention of panna cotta in the Italian cookbooks, legend has it that we owe it to a Hungarian lady who in the early 1900s had moved to the Langhe wine district (Unesco World Heritage Site) here in Piedmont.

L' estampe art gallery

Today we get to know Emanuele Cardellino founder and owner of L'Estampe art gallery in Via dei Mercanti 3G, in the heart of the Roman Lanes of Turin!