05/09/2007 - Ristorante Del Cambio 1757 - 2007
250 years of history and successes… at the tip of a fork
Autumn 1757. In a Turin that is increasingly taking on the look of a real capital, alongside what will become one of Piedmont’s best theatres, and a few steps away from one of the greatest stages of European opera, a café whose destiny would be closed tied to the fortunes of the city is beginning to attract attention. A place of refreshment for the nobility who frequented the theatre halls, a stop-off for distinguished travellers and high-ranking guests, a rendezvous for politicians and intellectuals, it was on its way to becoming a significant player in the city’s history, in a supporting role as a reserved setting and an authoritative witness.
Autumn 2007. The Ristorante del Cambio, a member of the Locali Storici d’Italia, an association founded at its very own tables in 1976, is celebrating its 250 years in business. From September to mid-October it is commemorating this special anniversary by promoting a series of events aimed at its affectionate clientele but especially at the city and the territory that accommodate it.
An emblematic establishment of the city, the Ristorante del Cambio – which belongs to the Turin Hotels International company headed by Amato Ramondetti, owner of the Cambio since 1981 and grandson of Amato Scavarda, its proprietor between 1912 and 1933 – is revisiting some of the highlights of its past. The culmination of the celebration and its unifying element is the exhibition “1757 – 2007 RISTORANTE DEL CAMBIO. 250 YEARS OF HISTORY UNVEILED”, set up through mid-October on the portion of Piazza Carignano in front of the restaurant’s entrance and realised by Stilema with the collaboration of the city of Turin and the participation of numerous public and private institutions. A sort of primer that follows a precise path to evoke history, curiosities, anecdotes, atmospheres, enchantments, personages, moments of society life and great culture. Each letter of the alphabet is paired with historic images and photos realised for the occasion – using different techniques and approaches – by Ferruccio Carassale, Mauro Fiorese and Saverio Lombardi Vallauri, who zero in on different aspects of the Cambio’s long history.
The exhibition is a fitting framework for stimulating, fascinating evenings every Wednesday in September. Authentic events that, for the first time, will see the historic restaurant “play itself”, as it were, alongside illustrious actors like the Teatro Regio, the Fondazione del Teatro Stabile di Torino and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, one of the country’s foremost expressions of contemporary art in recent years. A synthesis of past, present and future that mingles sounds, prose, and flavours of yesterday and today to emphasise both the restaurant’s historical tradition and its modernity. Always attuned to the times and ready to put its history and name at the service of the restaurant trade of tomorrow.
The first thematic evening, Wednesday 12 September, has an exceptional partner: the Teatro Regio, the Cambio’s “elder” by just 17 years. A reciprocal tribute that, between stage costumes and scores by composers who have left their mark on the history of music from the 1700s to the present, will sanction the consolidated friendship between the historic eating place and Turin’s leading opera house.
Next to come, on Wednesday 19 September, is an homage to contemporary art and photography in concert with the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. An evening in which crimson velvets and gilded stuccos provide the backdrop for the photographic images of today’s Turin, in full expansion and driven by new ambitions, made by three Italian photographers – Vincenzo Castella, Gianni Ferrero Merlino and Annalisa Sonzogni – who survey the city with different eyes. Exhibited along with their photographs will be the installation “Campo 6” by the German artist Tobias Rehberger (Esslingen, Germany, 1966), composed of vases of coloured glass, constantly replenished with flowers, that each represent the portrait of a young artist of the same age as Rehberger. The union between dining and art will be introduced by a conversation on the state of photography and contemporary art by Guido Curto, director of the Turin Fine Arts Academy, and Luca Beatrice, teacher at the Brera Academy and art critic.
Wednesday 26 September the Fondazione del Teatro Stabile di Torino will propose a mise en espace realised for the occasion by a group of actors, directed by Mauro Avogadro, who will animate the evening by performing a few scenes taken from “The Coffee Shop” by Carlo Goldoni. Located next to the Teatro Carignano, the historic home of the TST, the Ristorante del Cambio has welcomed, down through the centuries, among its velvets, baroque mirrors and gilt wood, outstanding personalities of the world of culture and the performing arts, from Vittorio Alfieri to Harold Pinter, from Eleonora Duse to Mariangela Melato. In addition, to celebrate this important anniversary, the TST will exhibit some precious historical costumes and stage sketches at the restaurant’s entrance.
Common to the themed evenings will be the aperitif in the restaurant’s elegant outdoor dining area and the menu. Or better, the “minuta” (as it was once called), accompanied by great wines, expressly drawn up by chef Riccardo Ferrero. A Turin native, in charge of the Cambio’s kitchen since January 2006, for this very special occasion he has designed a menu that exalts the value of time-honoured recipes and of a proper balance of flavours.