The Merenda Reale among Richard Ginori porcelain and silver artefacts

In Piazzetta Reale, inside the former Regia Frutteria surrounded by an 18th-century atmosphere, an experience not to be missed is the 'Merenda Reale' at the Caffetteria Reale. Among ancient showcase cabinets displaying an extraordinary collection of porcelain from the Richard Ginori manufactory and silver and metal artefacts, one can admire over three hundred objects, of different shapes and types, most of which were used for the royal table. Here, as in other historic cafés, snack time can be transformed into a little journey through time. You can choose between a steaming hot chocolate or a bicerin, offered together with irresistible 'bagnati' (dry biscuits) and other chocolate specialities strictly for dipping such as ladyfingers, baci di dama, torcetti, lingue di gatto, canestrelli, cri cri, diablottini and gianduiotti. From 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., aristocrats with discerning palates sipped cups of hot chocolate, accompanied by traditional biscuits and new refined confectionery specialities invented specially by the Palace chefs. By 1800, Turin had earned a reputation throughout Europe as the 'capital of taste' and boasted a constellation of cafés and pastry shops frequented by representatives of the emerging bourgeois class, but also by royalty, who did not disdain leaving the palace to indulge in a 'bicerin' of coffee, fior di latte and chocolate, always accompanied by a dessert to dip.