The production and sale of ice cream in the restaurant in Via Po, the restaurant's speciality, began with the Solano family around 1920. However, the birth of the Caffè Fiorio (opened in 1780) dates back to quite another time, of which the beautiful oil-painted sign depicting the interior of the Caffè, from the first quarter of the nineteenth century, is preserved in the Museo civico di arte antica of Palazzo Madama in Turin.
The haunt of the bourgeoisie and the conservative nobility, the Caffè Fiorio became important at a political level; it seems that both Carlo Felice and Carlo Alberto normally asked the ministers: "what do they say at Fiorio?".
The furnishings and decorations that we see today are the work of various artists and craftsmen (Gonin, Morgari, Gerbi, Busca, Barra and the sculptor Bogliani) who, starting in 1845, refurbished the room, which therefore took its current appearance. The internal lounges, with Neo-eighteenth-century armchairs and sofas lined in red velvet, are frequented by many of the most prominent figures of nineteenth-century Turin, including Cavour, Rattazzi and D’Azeglio.
Img credits: www.museotorino.it
