What’s on in Turin: events and attractions for tourists, occasional visitors and expat
Are you spending your Christmas Holidays in Turin or have you decided to start with us a brand-new year? You might have noticed that during this period, the city is dressed with colorful luminous installations. In this period, taking a stroll in the city center at night can be a really beath taking experience.
In addition to the usual Christmas lights, masterpieces from Renaissance to Futurism enlighten Piazza San Carlo. Until January 8, every day from 6 pm to 11 pm, paintings will be projected on facades of the buildings.
And in case you are still looking for something to do on December 31, here are some ideas.
Music
Turin will celebrate the arrival of 2023 with a concert in Piazza Castello. Tickets are required to access the square, but, unfortunately, they are already sold out. You can always take a walk in the nearby streets. Or head to Maglio where there will be a Queen Tribute Band, to Jazz Club which will stage the Tiny Beat Orchestra, or to Cafè Muller where Federico Sirianni will pay homage to Gaber who was famous Italian songwriter.
Osteria Rabezzana will host the Smallable Ensamble, so the food of chef Giuseppe Zizzio will be paired with Rock’n’roll, beat, country and soul music. Info and booking via phone (011.543070) or email.
On December 31, on the stage of the Royal Theatre the worldwide famous dancer Roberto Bolle will entertain the public with the show entitled Bolle and friends. And if you are still in town, on January 8 and 9, the Orchestra and Chorus will perform the Requiem Mass, a masterpiece by Giuseppe Verdi. On the podium, there will be the young talent Andrea Battistoni.

Back to Maglio, more precisely at Sermig – Arsenale della Pace, there will be a concert for peace at 6 pm on January 1.
Looking for a dance floor?
There still might be tickets available at Pick up, the historical disco not far from the city center. The event at Hiroshima Mon Amour is sold out, but last minute tickets might be available here.
Other clubs organizing dinners and/or toasts with panettone are Mokai , The Beach, Off Topic, Supermarket, Bunker, LifeClub, Audiodrom and Senza Fronzoli.
Art
Rare and precious nativities are on display at Libreria Antiquaria Freddi as well as at Basilica Maria Ausiliatrice where it is possible to find the 23rd edition of Nativities.
How about an evening at Reggia di Venaria? Until January 8, it will be possible to visit this beautiful hunting lodge after sunset. Check here for all the extra opening hours. And, of course, for New Year’s Eve, there is a special Gospel Concert.

In addition to the permanent collections of the 20th century, GAM gives you the possibility to visit temporary exhibitions such as The face of the Poet, dedicated to Edoardo Sanguineti, Hic Sunt Dracones by Chiara Camoni, and that of Jannis Kounellis as well as the sound work by Riccardo Benassi entitled Poeticize the desert instead of knowing where it ends.
Wide choice also at MAO, where visitors, along with the four floors of the permanent exhibition, can visit the Buddha10 exhibition, the video installation Ah!, by the artist Charwei Tsai and finally in the t-space, until January 15, the installation Bandit Queen by Silvia Morin.
At Palazzo Madama you can visit, together with the permanent collections, the exhibition Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy, the new Fabric Room and The city door-A tale of 2,000 years in the space of the Medieval Court.
From 27 December to 5 January, Pinacoteca Albertina, the museum within Turin’s Fine Arts Academy, organizes artistic workshops for children.
Until February 26, the Historical Archive hosts an exhibition dedicated to David Bowie, Steve Shapiro, and Civil Rights. The entrance is from Piazzetta Mollino 1, and tickets are available here.
Until April 16, Galleria Sabauda, a part of the Royal Museums, hosts Rembrandt meets Rembrandt.
For children
A stop that cannot be missed is definitely Mufant, the first Italian museum dedicated to Sci-Fi. Visit also its Park of Fantastic.
Another spot that children will absolutely love is the Medieval Village inside Valentino Park.

Both Mufant and Medieval Village have special openings during these holidays.
And for a moment of pure pleasure…
We cannot call it winter without a piece of Nuvola, Ghigo’s pandoro covered with a cream prepared with butter and vanilla sugar. This cake has become so famous that many pastry makers have tried to reproduce it. Try all the possible imitations but make sure you taste the original one too. Maybe paired with hot chocolate and whipped cream. Feeling guilty? Then go back to the beginning of this article and take a very long walk under the Christmas lights.
Lori Barozzino
Lori is an interpreter and translator who lives in Turin. If you want to read more, here’s her blog.
The Eurovision village has been so successful that the city has decided to maintain it as a venue for summer concerts and its website has become an official English source to check what the city has to offer. Well, together with this column.



In October, supermarkets and grocery stores fill up with Halloween costumes, themed treats and gadgets for tricks. Some Italians complain that this is a tradition imported from the USA and that we already have the February Carnival to dress up. What if I told you that’s not the case? Actually, this celebration of Celtic origins has many similarities with ancient traditions of Piedmont. The night between 1 and 2 November represented, in fact, the transition between the harvest season and that of the rest of the countryside as well as a moment of closeness to the dead. In the Piedmontese villages and valleys, on Halloween evening, it was customary to visit the cemetery leaving the table set, so that the souls of the dead could return to their homes and feast; the return of the living to the houses was announced by the sound of the bells, so that the dead could disappear. Another tradition was to sleep on the edge of the bed to allow the deceased to rest next to their loved ones. The tradition of the carved and illuminated pumpkin is also present in Piedmont, as well as that of the dried pumpkin filled with wine. After all, we are the region of Barolo, the King of wines.
From October 28 to December 12,
In
From 5 to 7 November,
the other at 4.30 pm to visit the exhibition China goes Urban.
the really weird 










With the rise of the infection, the City of Turin has deleted the celebrations in the city centre in order to avoid huge gatherings. Our
The Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi hosts
The
To fully enjoy the Christmas mood, why not taking advantage of the evening openings of
I know just one solution to face the temperature going below zero: Zabaione. This cream prepared with egg yalks, sugar and wine, and served warm with biscuits, is one of the best comfort food you can find in Italy. In winter, many diners and restaurants include it in their menu. But you can easily find it in cafes too. I suggest you to choose one of the many beautiful historical cafeterias that pinpoint Via Po, Via Roma, Piazza Castello. Take a seat, maybe near the window, grab a book, if no one is with you for some chitchats, and enjoy a glass of Zabaione. Forget the time passing by. A new year is coming, you have a lot of projects and resolutions, but they can certainly wait tomorrow. Happy New Year!
Turin is under the spotlight this week. We are hosting the Nitto ATP Finals and the entire world is watching us. We have put our best dress on. The city centre is dotted with artistic lighting, the renowned Luci
Fan Village.
Until Sunday 21 November,
Teatro Regio
At
So many things to do this week,
The cold season is gently approaching and we can say goodbye to swimwear and light clothes. For me, this means sweaters, warm jackets and scarves. And of course, indulging on food a bit more since the terrible bikini season is quite far now. While waiting for
From 9 to 10 October the
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Autumn is knocking at our doors, and so is the Piedmontese anti-vampire dish called bagna cauda. This sauce prepared with garlic (a lot of garlic) can be found in traditional restaurants and it is generally paired with vegetables and potatoes. But let me warn you: this is not the right dish for a romantic first dinner or if you have a business meeting the next day. Try bagna cauda with your long-term partner, family or friends. Or, as I said before, if you need to fight against Dracula.
Until September 26,
Mito
Monday 20, the movie Dune by Denis Villeneuve will be screened in English (with Italian subtitles) at 6.30 pm at
Until October 10,