5 things to do in Turin in November

Turin and Piedmont offer many things to do all year long but in November right when you would think nothing exciting is going on it is actually a great time to come over and enjoy this beautiful side of Italy.

4 special events are concentrated in the last 10 days of November making of Turin the ideal destination for those who feel like to spend the Thanksgiving week abroad.

We decided to compile a list of 5 unique things that happen in November so you can get an idea of what the locals enjoy, keep in mind that Turin in Italian is Torino therefore many events include TO in their name;)

1. Winter Lights aka Luci d'Artista or Artist's lights

Luci d'Artista are a series of artistic installations displayed around the city center streets. they are all made of lights and different shapes, following a different theme in each street; some of the isntallations are clearly Christmassy but most aren't which is why locals don't refer to them as proper Christmas lights but rather as artist's lights. As this year they are displayed from November 1 to January 11 we like to call them Winter Lights.

Via Garibaldi

2. Paratissima and Artissima 

Turin is the Italian trend-setting city par excellence and art feels particularly at home here. Every year at the beginning of November there is a week devoted to indie artists and art fair.

Paratissima means super parade of  indie artists, it is a free event with different sections: photography, video, design, fashion and workshops. In 2014 it took place on November 5-9 slightly before Artissima which is an international art fair. This year it took place from November 7-9 and it was divided into 6 main sections where 194 art galleries exhibited their works. This year it was particularly interesting because 71% of the exhibitors were international and over 50 museum directors took part to the organization of this event.

Paratissima work

Artissima takes place in the Lingotto oval where many other events take place

3. Sar.TO (tailor) an homage of the local fashion designers to Turin

To celebrate Turin as the hometown of Italian fashion, 10 lit up bubbles are floating on the ceiling of one of the most theatrical galleries in Turin: galleria San Federico, in Via Roma, near the very central Piazza San Carlo. This elegant Art Nouveau set hosts the works of 9 Turin fashion designers whose clothes are placed in each one of the bubbles to remind us of Turin's creative heart and sartorial know-how.

The bubbles were inaugurated on November 20 by one of its organizers Walter Dang (who took part to Turin Epicurean Capital 2014) and will go down at the end of January.

4. Torino Film Fest   

The Turin Film Fest is now one of the symbols of this city, where Italian cinema was born. Conceived as a specific festival for indie directors and small productions in 1982, over the years the Torino Film Fest has become a special appointment all cinema lovers can't miss out on. There are different sections and most participants are international. The productions are showed in their original language in city center movie theaters and the directors and actors come to present their works.

This is the most important indie cinema festival in Italy and besides new works, every year there is also a selection of classic movies shown in parallel to the indie productions to better appreciate cinema in its wide sense, possibilities and meanings.

This festival usually takes place in the last 10 days of November.

5. CioccolaTO or Turin's chocolate festival

Turin earned the title of Italian capital of chocolate because it produces 40% of the entire Italian national chocolate production which definitely makes it also one of the world's chocolate capitals. This year  Caffarel, an historical chocolate brand celebrated the 150th anniversary of our beloved gianduiotto, our local chocolate made of a mix of cocoa powder and hazelnuts. For this festival different chocolate makers presented their products together with a rich program of workshops, conferences and even book presentations.

ChocolaTO takes place in the last 10 days of November because besides pralines, cremini, chocolates and chocolate spreads, you can also enjoy different kinds of hot chocolate.

So after visiting one of the beautiful museums, or after a walking tour or a shopping session, you can get your chocolate sample and enjoy it at the spalm beach: an area in Piazza San Carlo where you can lay down on comfortable beach beds and relax while enjoying your chocolate item.

Also, every day during the 10 day chocolate festival, local restaurants and coffee shops have a special chocolate menu. This festival ends with a two day event about panettone to remind us that Christmas is getting closer!

                       In short, November is one of those months when you WANT to be in TURIN!