Overview
This little bar, which first opened in 1763, is now firmly established as a temple of Piedmontese elegance with the tables arranged outside in the square. The exact recipe for the special combination known as "bicerìn" (coffee, chocolate and fior di latte) is kept a strict secret. The staff are contractually bound not to tell anyone how it is made! This historic Torinese beverage is not only the pride of this locale, in 2001 it was also officially recognised as a traditional speciality of Piedmont.
After a coffee, cappuccino, zabaglione, apéritif or a chocolate toast, another place to visit is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation, on the same square. The story of Our Lady is linked to a legendary early Christian effigy of the Virgin Mary; the original has since been lost, but there is a 15th-century copy in the Sanctuary. Even non-believers are impressed by this church, which was rebuilt between 1678 and 1704 to a design by Guarino Guarini, and by the Sanctuary's presbytery, built by Filippo Juvarra around 1729.
