Outside, Turin is bathed in sunshine, tantalising glimpses of the white-tipped Alps visible through its streets. The former seat of the Duchy of Savoy, the city was the birthplace of modern Italy – it served as the country’s first capital from 1861-1865.
Surrounded by mountains and Piedmontese vineyards, it attracts visitors for its baroque architecture, Holy Shroud, Fiat and Lavazza heritage and aperitivo.
But instead, I am in the dimly lit basement of an elegant home, gazing at a rare 17th-century “Book of the Devil”. The grimoire, or spellbook, once used to summon powerful forces, is, I am told, covered in human skin. It is enclosed in a protective glass case – for its benefit or ours, I briefly wonder?
“The case periodically blackens,” says Norak Odal, director of Turin’s Museum of Contemporary Witchcraft.
“The book doesn’t like to be behind glass,” adds Daniela Surleti, the museum’s curator, as I take a step back.
