A Day as King on the Outskirts of Turin: A Trip to Stupinigi

The hunting parties of the Savoy royal family had been held regularly in the immense park of Stupinigi for almost a hundred years when, in 1827, King Carlo Felice gave the Viceroy of Egypt, Mohamed Ali, a hundred Merino sheep. Great was the surprise of the Savoy royal family, but also of the servants present at the wonderful Palazzina di Caccia, built in 1729 by Filippo Juvarra, when they learned what gift the Egyptian viceroy had decided to give the sovereign in return: a real Indian elephant in flesh and blood. In the territory of over 1,600 hectares of the Stupinigi Nature Park there were once also deer, as witnessed by the majestic sculpture by Francesco Ladatte, depicting a specimen that tops the dome of the Palazzina, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Walking in this splendid park we are fascinated by the idea that less than two hundred years ago we too could have had our picture taken in the company of the elephant they baptised Fritz, whose presence gave rise right here to the first menagerie, the first zoo in Italy. Fritz was loved by everyone, but despite the care and the "personalised" diet he was given (50 loaves a day of 3 Genoese pounds, 24 Lombard cabbages, but also a couple of pints of wine and some tobacco), unfortunately he did not live long. At the Palazzina di Caccia the wedding between Vittorio Emanuele II, the future first king of Italy, and Maria Adelaide of Habsburg-Lorraine was celebrated in 1842. In more recent times the sumptuous halls have hosted some scenes from the TV series Elisa di Rivombrosa, but also Rossini's Cinderella directed by Carlo Verdone.

Moreover, it houses the Museum of Art and Furnishing, as well as temporary exhibitions. In the immense park we also visit the medieval Castelvecchio, which was the residence of the Savoy-Achaia. In the centuries in which all these events took place, Stupinigi belonged to the municipality of Vinovo, but since 1868 it has been part of Nichelino, so we decide to take a little tour there too. At the beginning of the new millennium the town reached the record of having residents born in every Italian province. One of the monuments we visit is the castle, known as Palazzo Occelli, built on sixteenth-century foundations, with inside it the votive chapel to the Madonna delle Grazie with Nichelino's first church from the 13th century. In via Stupinigi we also admire the Baroque parish Church of the Holy Trinity.

We remain immersed in royal atmospheres for dinner too, stopping at the Ristorante Sabaudia, on viale Torino. "We opened the restaurant in 1996, after a careful renovation of these historic premises. We are in the farmsteads of the Palazzina di Caccia estate, right where the royal servants once lived. The wooden ceiling beams are the original ones from the 1700s," Mrs Valentina explains to us; she runs the restaurant with her husband Silvano, a sommelier, her son Andrea, who is the cook, and with Monica and Gabriella, who help in the dining room. The exposed bricks and warm colours of the furnishings, but above all the kindness of the owners, make the atmosphere cosy.

The joy increases at the sight of the menu: we can choose between a menu of the area and a seafood menu, but not only: since we arrived at the right time, we are also offered a truffle menu with specialities such as the crapula of Piedmontese fassone and the tagliolini with 30 eggs and mountain butter. While the seafood lovers in our group enjoy the creamed cod with stone-ground taragna polenta and the prawn tartare with sun-dried tomato and cannellini sauce, the other diners devote themselves to the delicacies of the area, tasting the verticale di ciapulà, the cooked-and-tonnato Piedmontese fassone girello and the onion stuffed with salsiccia di Bra and amaretti with fondue. The honey that accompanies some starters is served directly in the honeycomb: a real emotion.

We continue with the traditional fagottini del plin with mountain butter, the Val Chisone potato gnocchi with Castelmagno sauce, the exquisite cod agnolotti on parsleyed potato cream and the pappardelle with thirty eggs and porcini. We wash these delicacies down with excellent Piedmontese wines chosen from over two hundred labels available. We go on with the grilled fassone fillet with three salts, the Barolo braised beef, and the duck with grapes. We also taste the fine Cherasco snails "all'ubriaca", while our friends help themselves to succulent dishes of fresh fish, prepared according to market availability. Our Savoy day ends in great sweetness thanks to the tasty desserts of the house: the bunet, the zabaione bavarese, the chestnut mousse with rum amaretti and the classic gianduiotto. Finally, a tasty trolley of about twenty varieties of Piedmontese cheeses awaits us.

This beautiful day will stay in our hearts: our "hunt for emotions" in Stupinigi was most fortunate.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Sabaudia Viale Torino, 11 Fraz. Stupinigi Nichelino (TO) Tel.: 011/3580119