Piemonte: Italy’s Land of Wine, Truffles and Mountains

Piemonte: Italy’s Land of Wine, Truffles and Mountains

Discover the Elegant Food, Landscapes and Traditions of Northwest Italy

In the northwest of Italy, surrounded on three sides by the Alps, Piemonte is a region of extraordinary landscapes and some of the country's most celebrated food and wine. Known in English as Piedmont, its Italian name means “at the foot of the mountains”, a perfect description of a region stretching from dramatic Alpine peaks to vineyards, rice fields and historic cities.

For our Lucarelli Discover Italy journey, Piemonte offers a fascinating contrast to neighbouring Valle d’Aosta. The mountains remain an important presence, but Piemonte opens into rolling countryside famous throughout the world for wine, truffles and exceptional regional cooking.

Turin: An Elegant Italian City

The regional capital is Turin, or Torino, once the seat of the House of Savoy and the first capital of a unified Italy in 1861.

Its grand squares, arcaded streets, historic cafés and elegant architecture give Turin a character quite different from many southern Italian cities. The city also has a remarkable food heritage, particularly its relationship with chocolate.

Turin became an important European centre for chocolate making, and Piemonte is famous for gianduja, the combination of chocolate and finely ground hazelnuts developed when cocoa was expensive and local hazelnuts offered an ingenious alternative. That tradition continues today in gianduiotti, the distinctive individually wrapped chocolates associated with Turin.

Alba and the White Truffle

Travel south from Turin and the landscape changes into the beautiful hills around Langhe, Roero and Monferrato.

Here lies Alba, a town internationally associated with one of Italy's most precious ingredients: the white truffle.

The prized tartufo bianco d'Alba grows underground in particular conditions and is located with the help of trained dogs. Its intense aroma means only a small quantity is needed, traditionally shaved over simple dishes such as fresh pasta, risotto or eggs.

Every autumn, Alba's famous truffle season attracts food lovers from around the world. It is a perfect expression of Italian regional cuisine: an extraordinary ingredient closely connected to a particular landscape and season.

Barolo, Barbaresco and the Vineyards of Piemonte

Piemonte is also one of Italy's great wine regions.

The Nebbiolo grape produces two of its most famous wines: Barolo and Barbaresco. The region is also known for Barbera, Dolcetto and the sparkling wines of Asti.

Wine has shaped these hills for generations. The vineyard landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato are so culturally significant that they were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.

Here, wine is not simply a drink. It is connected with agriculture, family businesses, village traditions and the identity of the countryside itself.

The Food of Piemonte

Piemontese cooking reflects both the richness of the countryside and the colder climate of northern Italy.

One of its best-known dishes is vitello tonnato, thinly sliced veal traditionally served with a creamy tuna-based sauce.

Another regional favourite is bagna càuda, a warm preparation of anchovies, garlic and olive oil served with vegetables and shared around the table.

Fresh pasta also plays an important role. Agnolotti del plin are small filled pasta parcels whose name refers to the characteristic “pinch” used to seal them.

Rice is equally important. The plains around Vercelli and Novara are among Europe's most important rice-growing areas, making risotto an essential part of Piemontese cuisine.

Hazelnuts, Chocolate and Coffee

The Nocciola Piemonte, particularly associated with the Langhe, is considered one of Italy's finest hazelnuts. It appears in cakes, biscuits, chocolates and traditional desserts.

Turin's cafés provide another delicious tradition: bicerin, a layered drink combining coffee, chocolate and cream that has been enjoyed in the city for generations.

These flavours show another side of Italian cuisine. Piemonte can be refined and elegant, but its food remains deeply connected to local agriculture and tradition.

The Birthplace of Slow Food

Piemonte has also played an important role in the modern movement to protect traditional food culture.

The international Slow Food movement began in the region in the 1980s and established its headquarters in Bra. Its philosophy champions good food, biodiversity, local producers and culinary traditions threatened by increasingly standardised food production.

That philosophy has much in common with the story we are exploring through Discover Italy: Italian cuisine is not one single collection of dishes. It is a mosaic of regional ingredients, landscapes, producers and traditions.

Discover Piemonte with Lucarelli

From snow-covered Alpine mountains to the vineyards of Barolo, the truffle woods around Alba and the elegant cafés of Turin, Piemonte demonstrates the extraordinary diversity of northern Italy.

Its cooks have transformed local rice, hazelnuts, cheese, meat, wine and seasonal produce into a cuisine recognised around the world.

At Lucarelli Italian Restaurant in Birmingham's Mailbox and West Bromwich, our Discover Italy series celebrates these regional stories and the traditions behind the food we love.

Piemonte reminds us that understanding Italian food means understanding where it comes from — the landscape, climate, producers and generations of people who have kept those traditions alive.

And our journey through Italy has only just begun.