What is a Turin aperitivo and how do you do it right?
Aperitivo was born in Turin: order a vermouth or a spritz between 18:00 and 20:00 and a spread of free snacks (sometimes a full buffet) comes with it. Pace yourself — it can replace dinner.
Turin invented both vermouth and the ritual of the aperitivo, so doing it here is doing it at the source. The rules are simple and pleasant.
When does aperitivo happen?
Roughly 18:00 to 20:00. You buy a drink; a spread of snacks — olives, focaccia, sometimes a whole buffet of pasta and salads — comes included.
How do you not get it wrong?
Don't treat the buffet as an all-you-can-eat for the price of one drink — that's a tourist move. Order, graze politely, order again if you stay. In Turin it's an unhurried social rite, not a hack.
Can aperitivo replace dinner?
Often, yes — locals call the buffet-heavy version apericena. Two drinks and a few passes at a generous spread is a perfectly good evening meal.