PIEMONTE

Piemonte is a complex land that is rich and varied. It will leave you in awe not only of its natural and artistic beauty, but also thanks to its traditions and unique events. The territory of Piemonte is divided equally among mountains, hills and plains: the Alps, the gentle hills of Langhe and Monferrato, the river landscapes and the rice fields. There is even the great city – Turin – the primary political capital of Italy and certainly the capital of art nouveau and the automotive industry.

Piemonte is also a land of great wines with a culinary tradition that is based on natural ingredients. There are some true specialties such as the cheeses and the truffles that have enriched the world's most prestigious tables for years.

The breadth and the variety of the regional territory allow tourists to choose from among many different offers: excursions in the natural parks, visits to discover art and history, sports of all kinds, relaxation and fine dining.

We will highlight two very different offers of the many places to visit in this region. If you want to discover the history of this region, dedicate an entire weekend to visiting the provincial capital. Turin tells the story of the House of Savoy without even having to search it out. The city is filled with museums so don't leave Turin without dedicating the time necessary to visit the Egyptian Museum: it is an unforgettable experience and a truly singular exhibit of a civilization that is fascinating,

If you don’t want to miss out on an exciting trip to a fairy tale land and if you are able to enjoy yourself simply by the splendid colours of nature then le Langhe, with its soft gentle hills will seem like home. Here in the quiet expanses of hazelnut orchards and vineyards, there are myriad churches, castles, and abbeys where you can relax your body and mind, as many of history’s most illustrious did.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

The Baìo in Sampéyre: victory over the bad season and the invaders (CN)

In western Piemonte in Val Varaita, the Epiphany and Fat Tuesday take place with a series of events that holds a double memory: on one side the celebration of the victory over the Saracen invaders, and on the other the Carnival festivals, victory of the rebirth of the beautiful season. This layering between festivals of a war victory and carnival celebrations is a constant in many Carnival celebrations in Piemonte.

THE CELEBRATION OF THE VICTORY. According to legend, a thousand years back the people rebelled victoriously against the usurping invaders arriving from the Ligurian coast and afterwards they broke out in celebration in the various neighbourhoods. This event has been celebrated since then with the name Baìo, the most populace town in the valley. There are parades in costume (which the women of Sampyre renew in the five year interval between one festival and the next) including - among others - officers, soldiers, knights and tambourines; sarazine, who use white handkerchiefs to mark the Saracen encampment; signurine, young boys dressed as women who celebrate the victory; sunadur who accompany the parade with military marches played on violins and accordions; Greeks with the traditional coloured costumes; moru who are the Saracen prisoners freed by the people. The abà are above all the others, they are the directors and organizers of the celebrations.

There is one emblematic Carnival figure that carries throughout the territory: Harlequin who dresses in rags and is armed with an embalmed squirrel, scaring the passers by and forcing them to turn back.

THE CARNIVAL TRIAL.  In Sampéyre there is a traditional carnival trial. Here the star is tezuriè, the treasurer who escaped with the money box. He is captured by the crowd and condemned to death. Before the execution the treasurers gives his "last testament" which is enriched with malicious allusions to daily facts and gossip in the community, accusations of scandals and abuse. It is recited in a humorous key, but not without a little bite now and then, to the city’s more important personages. The trial, just as in other communities, has the function of airing the collective conscience and symbolically the condemnation becomes a purification right for facing the new yearly cycle freed from vice and sin.

THE WINES IN PIEMONTE

With 49 DOC wines, Piemonte is the most interesting wine region in Italy. There are two large productions areas, the southeast, which runs from Lange to Monferrato, and the pre-alpine arch, from Cuneo to the provinces of Turin, Biella, Novara and Vercelli.

In Monferrato and in Langhe, where the altitude ranges from 250 to 650 metres, some of the most famous Italian wines are produced including the DOCG , Barolo, Barbaresco, Brachetto d’Acqui, as well as the DOC Nebbiolo d'Alba, Barbera, Freisa, Dolcetto and Grignolino. In the other large wine producing area, which has a low temperature climate, strong temperature variations and excellent light, the vineyards boast prestigious results which include the DOCG Gattinara and Ghemme and other DOC wines such as Caluso, Carema and Valsusa.

Throughout the territory, wine tasting is entrusted to the original Regional Wine Bars and Wine Shops.

THE FLAVOURS OF PIEMONTE

The large region “ai pie’ del monte” meaning at the foot of the mountain, presents a large variety of landscapes that can be found throughout Italy (with the exception of the sea). The early political unification under the House of Savoy at the end of the eleventh century created disorder and hardship to the locals, remembered still in the many local traditional festivals. There is a pleasant variety of different flavours in this region, conditioned only by the traditional produce of the countryside.

THE CLASSICS.  The well known bagna caoda is a sauce made with oil and butter, garlic and anchovies heated together and mixed to create a creamy sauce that is kept warm in a small fondue pan placed at the centre of the table. The diners dip vegetables grown in the Piemonte valley (cardoons, bell peppers, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, artichoke hearts and celery) either raw or boiled according to the Pinerolo tradition. The heart of wine and food in Piemonte is most certainly the zone of Langhe with its world famous wines and perfumed truffles from Alba, which enrich a variety of dishes, beginning with the simple egg.

FIRST COURSES.  We cannot fail to mention risotto al Barolo made with the famous wine or paniscia di Novara, which flavours the rice and is a true identifying element of the people of the Padana Valley with famous wines from Langhe or the more popular Barbera.

From rice to stuffed pasta: the tiny and delicious agnolotti al plin, in local dialect this name refers to the pinch between the thumb and index finger that seals this exquisite filled pasta no larger than a thimble, to be eaten simply with butter and sage. The tajarin (tagliatelle pasta made from a very fine egg dough) closes this rendition of some of the best first courses from Piemonte offering a wide array of proposals for the sauce (wild hare, liver, mushroom or rabbit ragout with sausage tomato, and basil to wind it all up with a dusting of truffle).

SECOND COURSES. Another prestigious wine to flavour second course meat dishes including beef braised in Barolo wine (one bottle per one and a half kilos of beef ribs) or rabbit in wine sauce (which is Fresia wine) with herbs. For a step back in history try pollo alla Marengo, which Napoleon’s chef made during the famous battle of June 14, 1800 by frying pieces of chicken in olive oil with parsley and white wine that came from the local farms. Today the recipe is more complicated and it even includes the addition of crayfish, mushrooms, tomatoes and eggs. It has considerable historic interest and it is testimony to an exceptional battle in the Piemonte countryside.

THE DESSERTS.  The desserts in this area owe a great deal to the region’s nearness to France. Beyond the famous Savoyard cookies that are incredibly light, which are held to have been invented by the pastry chef of the House of Savoy in the middle of the fourteenth century, the Bonèt or Bun^et, is a pudding made from Savoyard and amaretto cookie crumbs mixed together with milk, sugar, egg, cocoa, rum, marsala wine and then cooked in a double boiler.