TURIN, Italy - A city’s most interesting places are not always mentioned in the tour books. Off the beaten path, away from the Olympic banners and crowds there is a hidden side of the city, a part where tourists aren’t to be found.

As Turin’s cornerstone industry — auto manufacturing — moves out of the city, residents are looking more and more to tourism as a source of income. The Olympics are the perfect time to show off the city’s gems, yet few tourists seem to venture off the main streets of downtown.

“We have been waiting for years now for the Olympics, since we found out that we have it,” said Sonia Bruno, 37, a part-time tour guide with the city, who hopes that the spotlight on her city will bring in more business.

Less than a mile from town lies a museum of sorts where Turin’s most famous artists and sculptors have their works on display. There is no sign of the Olympics and few tourists; although the area is known by art-buffs around the world.

At Turin’s General Cemetery one can pay their respects to city’s most famous residents.  Aristocrats, who remained residents of the city after Italy’s capital was moved to Florence in 1864, commissioned mausoleums several stories high to house the entire family. These mini-houses, along with the portici over the walkways and sculptures more intricate than those found in many of the world’s art museums, are packed next to each other marking the graves of the cities wealthiest and most-renowned residents.

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In the cemetery’s Jewish area, with no more than two small maple trees and a simple headstone marking the grave, lies one of the most famous Turin natives, writer Primo Levi. He lived for most of his life on the same street in Turin, except for the time he spent during WWII in the anti-Fascist resistance, which then resulted in his deportation to the concentration camp, Auschwitz. He returned to Turin after the war, working as a chemist and then a writer until his suicide in 1987.

Not far from the relative quiet of the cemetery and bustling with life is the Balon market. Stalls of antique dealers set up shop on street after street, selling everything from Elvis memorabilia to cast-iron stoves from the 1800s. After a slow morning, Italians packed the walkways but bought very little. There every Saturday and once a month on a Sunday, the market is now open everyday during the Olympics, with organizers hoping for a renaissance of sorts.

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“Today is Sunday and quiet, but now the Games are gaining momentum so I hope it will get better,” said Lorenza Mattiolo, a wood sculptor from the neighboring mountains, who was invited by the market’s organizers to set up a stall. 

For Marco Savio, a 25-year veteran of the market, success is hit or miss.

“We thought we would have more success with the Olympics — more people coming, more people buying, but they don’t want this kind of stuff,” he said. “They are buying small items, souvenirs, not the old stuff.”

Perhaps the city’s best kept secret is the Sunday afternoon buffet at the historic Café Plattí, just blocks away from the main train station. Walk in through the crowds at the bar and one would never know there is an upstairs where the city’s older residents come escorted by family and friends. Dishes of cheese, meat, vegetables soaked in olive oil, and seafood line the table. And that’s only the starters. On Sundays it’s all you can eat for €22 in one of the city’s six landmark cafés.

“It’s quite a nice tradition to come on a Sunday morning, but as you see most of the people are older,” said Bruno, as she peeled the skins off jumbo shrimp. “We hope that with the Olympics people will understand now that there is more to see in Turin than Juventus football.”

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