By Catherine Sabino

If you had any doubt about how seriously Italians take their coffee, consider that earlier this month, a campaign kicked off with support from a bi-partisan group of the country’s MPs to help espresso gain UNESCO recognition and make it on to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list (as Neapolitan pizza recently did). Since the late 1800s the special brew, served up in many varieties—corto, lungo, doppio, macchiato, or spiked for a corretto—has helped jump-start the country each morning, also serving to fuel such popular frothies like cappuccino and latte macchiato.

But one of the most irresistible and fabulous espresso-based drinks is not widely known or available outside of Turin. Appropriately, this most regal of beverages, the bicerin, came about in a city steeped in royal history … continue reading

Catherine Sabino has worked for magazines in Italy and the US, and was editor-in-chief of Forbes Special Interest Publications, Gotham Magazine and Four Seasons Magazine, a travel and lifestyle publication. In addition to living and going to school in Italy, she has written two books on Italian design, published by Crown/Clarkson Potter, and has produced features from many regions in Italy and countries in Europe. Her focus is on travel in Italy and Western Europe.