Weekender Finding a niche in Piemonte, Italy

_ Piemonte is a gem mixing nature, tradition and food _

By Chung Ah-young

Korea Times correspondent

Piemonte, ITALY _ Italy looks like a mosaic of diverse colorful regions assembled into a perfect composition. Each has its own color and distinct taste reflecting its natural background and tradition.

Piemonte is a very unique part of the assemblage that shows another Italian way of life.

Blessed with the wealth of natural resources, breathtaking landscapes and a rich historical background, Piemonte means “at the foot of the mountains,” that cover the northwestern part of Italy.

The province was for a while overshadowed by other tourist hot spots in Italy until Turin, its provincial capital, hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 2006.

Now the region is gradually emerging as a niche for tourists with a variety of outdoor activities and sightseeing in the picturesque landscapes complemented by its food and wine.

Turin

One and half hours away from Milan Malpensa Airport by car, Turin is easy to gain access to.

Its city center, marked by Baroque architecture styles, is home to Fiat, the leading Italian automotive group. It formerly served as the capital of the Savoy Dynasty and for a brief period, also of a united Italy. The city center is home to numerous ancient Savoy residences designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1997 and 40 museums, including the National Museum of Cinema of the Mole Antonelliana, and the Egyptian Museum.

To look around the historical monuments in the old city bisected by the Po River, the longest river in the country, a city sightseeing bus is recommended. The buses offer diverse routes _ the Classic Route featuring the Turin Center, the National Museum of Cinema, the Egypt Museum and Royal Residences; and the Contemporary Turin Tour of the Giovanni and Marella Agnelli Art Gallery, Eataly, the Lingotto and Olympic sites. The bus ticket is valid for 24 hours with the “hop on, hop off” system at every stop so that passengers can look around their preferences.

Among the spots, the National Museum of Cinema nestled inside the Mole Antonelliana, the symbolic structure of Turin, is remarkable. The Mole Antonelliana was originally designed as a synagogue and has been completely restored as an absolutely unique shrine to cinema. The 19th-century architecture reaching a height of 167 meters is certainly the tallest museum in the world with a scenic lift that goes up to the top of the dome, and gives a panoramic view of the whole old city and surrounding mountains. There is historical background behind the museum, in that Turin was the place that first established film chromatography and served as the birthplace of Italian cinema because of its proximity to France, home of the Lumiere brothers, the earliest filmmakers.

For modern tastes, Eataly should not be to be missed. Eataly is the largest Italian food and wine marketplace in the world established by Oscar Farinetti. It opened in 2007 as a multifunctional market dedicated to gastronomy under the motto of “quality food at sustainable prices.” It offers wine, pasta, rice, flour, oil, vinegar, preserved food, meat and cheese without middlemen and restaurants on the spot.

To better appreciate the city, visit the old cafes. It is not an exaggeration to say that part of Italian history was written in Turin’s cafes. “What’s the talk in the cafes today?” was the question that King Charles Albert of Savoy-Carignano often asked his advisors. Indeed, Turin houses many literary and political salons that were influenced by the Savoy Dynasty. The old cafes such as the Caffetteria Baratti and Milano (1858) are perfectly preserved, standing as they were hundreds of years ago. They are located on the corners of the old town and offer the specialties of Piemonte confectionery with delicious coffees, hot chocolates and bicerin (a traditional beverage combining chocolate, coffee and milk that is believed to fight off the winter chill).

Mountains and lakes

Ski slopes are one of the regional landmarks in winter but other breathtaking landscapes offer more than sightseeing.

The mountains such as Monte Rosa and Monviso and Lake Maggiore provide splendid views and also a wide range of outdoor sports such as hiking, climbing and cycling.

Situated between Lake Maggiore and Lake d’Orta, Mt. Mottarone is one of the most beautiful “balconies” in the whole region. It allows climbers to gaze upon the peaks of the Alps and seven lakes _ Maggiore, Orta, Mergozzo, Varese, Comabbio, Monate and Biandronno.

Its 1,491-meter-high peak can be reached by vehicles and also cable-cars in about 20 minutes from Stresa. Skiing in winter and biking in spring and summer are the main activities on the mountain. Mt. Mottarone offers trekking, hang-gliding and adrenaline-pumping mountain biking. It takes about three hours to get down from the peak to Stresa by bike. The starting and the final tracks are paved but other tracks are a little bit bumpy and demanding.

But a lighter alternative track gives more suitable courses called “Sentiero Alpino-Stresa” which starts from 800 meters above sea level with a cable-car intermediate stop. It lasts one hour and alternates dirt roads with asphalt track.

Just getting off the cable-car, you can find the picturesque Lake Maggiore and reach small islands such as Isola Bella (Beautiful Island), Isola Madre (Island of Mother) and Isola dei Pescatori (Island of Fisherman) by ferry.

Isola Bella is a small rocky islet hosting the Borromeo villa and its fancy Italianate ten gardens adorned with imposing statues representing the personification of rivers, seasons and wind. The gardens and mansion were built in the 17th century in the Baroque style. The gardens are embellished with various flowers particularly roses in this season.

The Borromeo family still uses the villa as a summer residence while the family stays in Milan during the winter. Even though the family stays there, the first floor is open to the public while the second and the third floors are for private use.

The inside greets you with sumptuous objects _ 16th-century Flemish tapestries and paintings in the hallway and a rustic Venetian mosaic consisting of pebbles, tufa and marble on the floor and the brilliant Murano-glass chandelier in the spacious ball room.

Also, the mosaic-heavy grotto offering a cool underwater breeze gives a peek into the old aristocratic family’s summer life.

Just beside Isola Bella, Isola Madre, the largest among the Lake Maggiore islands, also belonging to the Borromeo family, takes you to English-style botanical gardens filled with some 1,000 kinds of plants from all over the world.

Shaped like fish, Isola dei Pescatori was once occupied by fishermen and six fishermen still fish for trout and persico for a living.

Wine & food

Piemonte is synonymous with high-quality wine and is gastronomically distinguished from other regional cuisines thanks to its vast agricultural production.

The region has 45 different D.O.C (Denominazione di origine controllata) and 11 D.O.C.G.

(Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) wines. Some 52,000 hectares of land are vineyards, with an average annual production of 450,000 tons of grapes processed into around 3.3 million hectoliters of wine. The most famous wines which have 37 D.O.C zones, are big, robust reds. Barolo, one of the world’s best, is made from the Nebbiolo grape.

Along with the world-appreciated wine, the vast, fertile Po River valley region has developed regional delicacies with rice including risotto.

Risotto is a dish of creamy cooked rice that has absorbed a good quantity of broth to make it flavorful and tender.

Piemontese culinary traditions can be traced to the royal court of Savoy, which ruled from the 15th century until 1861. Many of the best-known dishes of the region are rich with truffles, egg pastas, wild game and pork products, along with the abundant use of cheese and butter.

“Bagna caoda” is a winter dish of raw vegetables dipped into a hot bath of olive oil, garlic and anchovies. The most famous Piemontese pastas are homemade “Tajarin” (egg noodle), while “agnolotti” is Piemonte-style ravioli stuffed with meat.

During the late fall and winter, pasta and risotto may be topped with truffles (black or white), one of the typical products from the region. They are best from October through January and trained dogs are used to find them.

Piemonte is well known for its appetizers (raw meat salad, tomino al verde, vitello tonnato, peperone al forno con acciughe) and for its desserts including “gianduja” chocolate (a mixture of chocolate, hazelnuts and vanilla), “bonet” (chocolate custard flavored with rum and amaretti cookies).