M. Torielli

M. Torielli

drogheria e coloniali

For over a century this shop has been full of the heady scent of more than 250 types of spices from five continents: tea, coffee, honey, chocolate, essences and extracts, sweets and much more besides, all kept in glass jars with nicely handwritten labels. It’s a small grocery store, very well known and popular with the Genoese, who can find here everything they need for their recipes, but also with tourists who wander in while strolling around the narrow lanes of the old quarter and are enchanted by the timeless atmosphere inside. The ambience is unique, with furnishings and objects from the turn of the 20th century: Art Nouveau white lacquered wood counter, shelves, shop windows, jars and other glass containers and small drawers full of products – like those mentioned in the original trading licence – with pride of place for the spices used by apothecaries in bygone days. Torielli is a microcosm of contemporary Genoese society with a rich mixture of peoples, history, religions and customs. Here, where once upon a time they only stocked spices used in Genoese cuisine, now you can find ingredients for dishes from all over the world. The Cavanna sisters continue the family tradition also with regard to the art of coffee roasting, something they have been doing since 1956, using an old coffee grinder and an even older roaster.