New Year upon us and I got to check-off the list for 2013 pizzeria ALLA LETTERA in Turin. The restaurant is dedicated to typography and in particular the typeface BODONI by Italy’s famous type designer, punch cutter and printer GIOVANNI BATTISTA BODONI. Alla Lettera's mission is put simply (like any good plate of food), “"alla lettera" significa anche "fare bene le cose", con qualità e nel rispetto della tradizione” -- “”to the letter” also means to “do things well”, with quality and respect to tradition.
I enjoy smart places, for me this can mean the thought that goes into the design of the environment, presentation and quality of the food, but mostly the effect it can produce on people. It’s the organic responses from people that best answer the question to the success of the overall effort made by businesses. The ladies at the table next to us were enjoying their time too.
The “newspaper” menu had short explanations as to the history of certain typefaces and artistic contributions by local designers with respect to typography and pizza. Tasters (GLI SFIZI) at the beginning of the menu included one called ANTIPASTO AMICI MIEI which included a fine assortment and comparison of types of mozzarella like BUFALA and BURRATA. I jumped over directly to a traditional Napoletana style pizza: a traditional recipe with traditional ingredients. It’s bound to taste just as good far into the future as it did in the past.
more images here of the space
more images here of the space
