It seems that the café also featured in the Risorgimento and the Unity of Italy, thanks to Camillo Benso di Cavour. According to the legend, it is said that the Conte, who was liberal, secular and anti-clerical, would wait for the royal family to leave the sanctuary, instead of accompanying them, sat comfortably at the table under the clock, checking the entrance of the Consolata from behind the curtains.

In a letter, Alexandre Dumas senior mentioned the bicerin as one of the things not to be missed in Turin.

Friedrich Nietzsche lived in Turin, a city he particularly loved and where he wrote The Antichrist,Twilight of Idols and Ecce Homo.

In his memoirs, Giacomo Puccini tells that he would sometimes take a stroll to the coffeehouse: he lived in the nearby Via Sant’Agostino Street in an attic which he openly admitted to using as a basis for La Bohème.

H.R.H. Queen Maria Josè and H.R.H. King Umberto II visited here before going into exile on 1946. A letter of thanks from the former king is displayed on the premises.

The place is also loved by artists. It is not surprising because its cosy atmosphere encourages thought and concentration. Among the writers, customers included the great Guido Gozzano, Italo Calvino and Mario Soldati, who was also a major film and television director.

Writer Umberto Eco included a long and detailed description of the Caffè Al Bicerin in his historical novel The Prague Cemetery, using it as a setting for part of the book.

Gianni Agnelli “l’Avvocato“, his brother Umberto and their families used to stop at the Caffè Al Bicerin during visits to the Consolata. 

It was not unusual to bump into Erminio Macario sitting down with a hot bicerin, in the company of some stage beauty or other actors, such as Carlo Campanini. The star Wanda Osiris, a staunch visitor to the Consolata, often used to go from the limelight… to the soft lights of the Bicerin.

The international painter and sculptor Mario Merz was also a frequent visitor. One of the main exponents of Arte Povera, he used to love sitting at the first table next to the entrance.

In 2008, in Iphigenia in Tauris at the Teatro Regio, the German choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch visited the Bicerin, surprising Maritè, who had seen the dance-opera the night before. They immediately hit it off and embraced warmly.

The 2006 Winter Olympics brought many famous people to the city. We have fond memories of the American actress Susan Sarandon, who was so likeable and would often bring her entire family to our establishment

The Caffè Al Bicerin has often been used in films for both period and contemporary settings. Films include: ‘Amore e ginnastica’ featuring Senta Berger, ‘La meglio gioventù’ by Marco Tullio Giordana, ‘Ora e per sempre’ on the Grande Torino football team, ‘Ciao ragazzi’ by Liliana Cavani, ‘Noi credevamo’, ‘Cuore’, ‘Le cinque giornate’, ‘A star is born’ and others…