ITALY Piedmont is spreading the news about its rich cultural, historical and culinary heritage
Where variety is the spice of life

Piedmont’s gastronomical reputation is founded on its truffles and its formidable range of dishes. It is a beautiful region of contrasts, ranging from the snow-capped peaks of the Alps to fertile valleys and magnificent lakes.
Truffles are the stars of Piedmontese cuisine and chestnuts also play an important role. Bagna Caoda, a sauce made from anchovies, garlic and olive oil, is the most typical Piedmontese cuisine.

Various vegetables, such as Jerusalem artichokes, cardoons, celery, cabbage, potatoes, beetroot and button mushrooms are dipped in the sauce. It is a meal in itself. Gorgonzola cheese and grissini, the dry bread sticks served at the start of an Italian meal, also come from this region in northwest Italy.
The sheer variety and abundance of ingredients has resulted in many dishes that have stood the test of time and are now classics. Piedmont is the home of ‘fritto misto’, a delicious combination of more than 20 different fried sweet and savoury ingredients. Liver, fruit, amaretti biscuits, mushrooms, semolina, apples and other ingredients are all fried together in batter.

There are numerous cheeses in Piedmont and cheesemaking is an important element of the local economy. The mature, green and blue-veined gorgonzola is famous throughout the world, but many others are worth seeking out too.
Among them is Castelmagno, produced only in the town of the same name, and Robiola di Roccaverano, a distinctive, cylindrically-shaped cheese still made by hand. Battelmatt is the unusual name given to a slightly bitter cheese produced in the pasturelands of Val Formazza, while Murazzano is an aromatic variety and the town of Bra in Cuneo province produces a small, compact soft cheese.

Many great wines are produced in Piedmont, particularly Barolo, and the fine vintages of the future are being developed by a new generation of wine-makers.
The area of Cuneo, between mountains and the Po valley, produces a variety of wines. From this region comes Asti Spumante, Barbaresco, Roero, Barbera, Nebbiolo d’Alba, Dolcetto delle Langhe Mon-regalesi, Nebbiolo and the noble Barolo, first produced by the Marquesa Giulia Falletti di Barolo. Her castle has been turned into the Ethnographic-Oenological Museum.

Wine production in Cuneo plays a vital role in the economy – there are 80 communes, or small villages and hamlets whose lifeblood is derived from 15,000 acres of vineyards. The hilly area known as the Langhe in Cuneo is the heartland of Barolo, with the town of Alba as its focus. The climate tends to be on the dry side and the concentration of sugar in the grapes is higher, so the relatively small harvest usually delivers high-quality produce.
More than two-thirds of output qualifies for DOC and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata and Garantita) status.

The Monferrato region of Piedmont, which extends from the outskirts of Turin to the hills below the Po Valley, has been subsumed into a district called Lanha Astigiana. The area closest to the Appennines is known as Upper Monferrato, and this is where the Gavi
and white Cortese wines are produced.
The Monferrato has in recent years seen the development of Moscati d’Asti, a grape with an exceptionally aromatic fragrance and delicacy from which Asti Spum-ante is made. The international success that wineries have had with this wine has encouraged them to expand their vineyards.

Grapes from the vineyards are supplied to several producers and cooperatives, which are mainly located at Canelli and in the Belbo Valley. They produce more than 80 million bottles of Spumante every year. Monferrato Casalese, which takes its name from the town of Casalese, yields a distinctive wine, but it is on the Tanaro river that the majority of DOC and DOCG wines are produced.
The food industry plays an increasingly important role in Piedmont’s economy in the post-industrial era, helping to replace jobs that have disappeared as a result of modernisation and automation at the big firms such as Fiat motors, near the regional capital, Turin. In response to the problems generated by declining heavy industry, the regional government decided to diversify the economy by concentrating on Piedmont’s particular strengths.

‘We are developing our image abroad’ Enzo Ghigo

Piedmont regional president Enzo Ghigo says: “First we focused on the wine and food sector. It was still quite undeveloped in terms of employees but was the right
target on which to focus in order to develop the region’s image abroad,” he says.
The Piedmontese authorities helped to set up an association called Slow Food _ a very Italian response to the worldwide spread of fast food _ to spread the news about the region’s cultural, historical and culinary heritage. The regional government’s efforts to promote Piedmont’s rich history and modern innovations also involves the encouragement of tourism.
“We are an important destination for sophisticated tourists,” says Mr Ghigo. “English tourists are discovering Langhe, an important wine and food area. We are developing a tourist circuit of royal palaces and villas, including the restoration of a beautiful villa designed by Juvarra in the 18th century. Piedmont is also of interest for religious tourists, as Catholics can discover the history of important saints such as St Giovanni Bosco and St Domenico Savia.”

‘Tradition and high-quality products’ Ettore Racchelli

Tourism counsellor for the region Ettore Racchelli says: “Piedmont is famous for its designers and fashion. We have the most beautiful lakes in Italy and Piedmontese wine and gastronomy is nearly as important as the French.
“Slow Food is a sort of philosophy. It is a way of growing and developing through tradition, high-quality agricultural products and craftsmanship.”
While Turin is sometimes described as the Silicon Valley of Italy, it is Piedmont’s tourism industry that continues to offer plenty of room for growth. Winter sports have helped to promote the region, and the 2006 Winter Olympics will take place in Val di Susa.

New high-speed rail links, either under construction or being planned, will greatly speed up communications between Piedmont and its neighbours. These include: the Turin-Milan, Turin-Lyons link through the Mont Blanc tunnel, and routes to Italian ports.
The authorities have also set up ITP, an agency to attract foreign investment. “The ITP has become the sole reference point for foreign investors, through which we have been able to provide them with a continuous flow of correct, up-to-date information,” adds Mr Ghigo.
The Langhe area has as its focal point the town of Alba – ‘the town with 100 towers’. It comes to life on Saturday mornings, as all the roads from the surrounding medieval hilltop villages fill up with people bringing their goods to sell on market stalls.
Near the Tanaro river is the food market, well worth a visit for its culinary specialities. Among these are its toma cheese, sweet torrone, roast chestnuts and, of course, delicious truffles.

Turin itself is famous for its historic cafés, which serve mouth-watering chocolate specialities such as ‘gianduiotto’ chocolates and tiny cakes eaten with vermouth. A great fan of café life, Alexandre Dumas loved the Bicerin, a mixture of coffee, chocolate and cream, produced at the café of the same name.
In Canavese, a fertile region of thickly wooded landscapes and vineyards sprinkled with medieval villages, the gastronomic trail continues. Every year, the ‘battle of the oranges’ takes place at the 14th century red-hued castle of Ivrea.

Aside from its wines, Cuneo is also a region of rich culinary tradition. Rum flavoured chocolates called ‘cuneesi al rhum’, macaroons and marron glacé are specialities.
Barbaresco, a small town on the banks of the river Tanaro, has a temple named after St Donato, the patron saint of grape harvests; St Donato’s temple is dedicated to Barbaresco wine. Cherasco, further south, is famous for its medieval and baroque palaces, as well as its snails.
Many pretty villages, such as La Morra, Dogliani, Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba, are famous for their wine production. Visitors will find ample opportunities for tasting the delicious local product.

Bra, on the site of an ancient Roman settlement in the Roero area, celebrates saints and hedonists in rococo temples and baroque churches, and the Zizzola. This sump-tuous neo-classical villa is witness to the town’s rich, secular history. Today, Bra is also an important culinary centre, famed for its cheeses, cakes and sausages, as well as DOC wines such as Nebbiolo, Arneis and Roero.
Many crops are grown on Piedmont’s fertile soil. Vercelli is the European capital for rice production, its availability giving the Italians an early lead in the creation of many classic recipes such as Panissa, which is also known as ‘paniscia novarese’.

Cistercian monks introduced rice growing in the areas surrounding the town of Vercelli, where the first Piedmontese university was established. The landscape is a patchwork of paddy fields crisscrossed by canals and rows of poplars.
But, wherever one finds oneself in Piedmont – be it beside Lake Maggiore, in the snow-capped Alps or wandering through sleepy medieval villages – good food is never far away. It is celebrated daily, although Alba’s truffle fair in October and Cuneo’s chestnut fair in the same month are highlights of the year.