[ Apr.2019 ] We visited the Palace of Venaria in Piedmont in Italy as a day trip from Milan.
It is located close to Turin and it is the palace for the House of Savoy, the royal family whose history goes back to the 11th century.
When we arrived, we found that there was a big square, Piazza della Republica at the beginning of one main street and a huge palace facing the square, so I though the whole area was only for the tourists visiting the palace.
In fact, after walking in the road we understood that it was a proper town where people live.
There are quite a few things to see here, so before visiting places, we needed to eat.
My husband looked the restaurants up on the internet and chose one, but when we got there, we found that this one was open only in the evening.
The person who came out from this restaurant recommended another one called Il Convito della Venaria, facing Piazza della Republica.
Usually, when the restaurants are in the main square, they tend to be for tourists and the quality is not great, but this one was an exception.
The interior was chic with the impressive blue chandelier.
We were taken to the ground floor dining room, but when other people came and said “We are having a business meeting”, they were ushered to the upstairs.
In Italy, each region has their special foods and Piedmont is one of the most famous regions for food and drink.
Within
their menu, there was an economical one called “Piedmont lunch set”, so both of us chose that.
When my husband ordered, the waitress with the lovely eyes asked him, “Can your wife eat raw meat?”.
That was because the starter was Steak Tartare.
We did not ask if the beef was Fassona, the special Piedmont cattle, but anyway, it was fresh and tasty with a lovely presentation with cheese and egg.
My husband’s grandmother used to cook this apparently, so for him it was a nostalgic taste.
The main was small Ravioli with meat.
The powdered nuts was sprinkled on top, which was nice.
The dessert was rich chocolate mousse.
With the coffee they served their own Polenta biscuit, which was really lovely.
As for wine, we chose the local Monferrato red and it was our sort of rich taste.
After this satisfactory lunch, we went to the ticket office just in front of the restaurant.
They were selling many kinds of tickets, combining the palace, the garden and the castle.
We chose the one which allowed us to visit all these three and it was €20.
Apparently, for journalists there is a discount of €4 and my husband mumbled “It’s a shame we did not bring your press card” to me (I used to have one).
Hearing that, the attendant said “The journalists would write about this palace, so I can give you the discount” and discounted my ticket.
Well, I am writing now, so it was not a lie, was it?
Because of the shuttle bus timing, we visited in order of the garden, the castle and the palace, as she suggested.
