0:00:02 > 0:00:04I'm Andrew Graham-Dixon and I'm an art historian.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07I'm Giorgio Locatelli and I'm a chef.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12We are both passionate about my homeland, Italy.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14The smells, the colour,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17this is what food is all about for me.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22The rich flavours and classic dishes of this land are in my culinary DNA.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24And this country's rich layers of art
0:00:24 > 0:00:28and history have captivated me since childhood.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32It's meant to make you feel as if you are being whirled up to heaven.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37We're stepping off the tourist track and exploring Italy's Northern regions
0:00:37 > 0:00:40of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43It's part of Italy that's often overlooked, but it drives
0:00:43 > 0:00:47the whole country and I want to show off its classic dishes.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Not to mention its hidden legacy of artists, designers, intellectuals.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Wow, look at that!
0:00:56 > 0:00:59This week we are in Piedmont, Italy's best kept secret.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Where people's deep connection with the land has created
0:01:04 > 0:01:08a very special blend of art, food and popular culture.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10A winning recipe for modern life!
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Located on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, Piedmont has the most
0:01:22 > 0:01:25majestic landscapes in Italy.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28It was once the gateway to the whole country.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33When Hannibal invaded in the 3rd century BC, this was his way in.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37With its unspoilt, natural beauty, it's inspired many artists,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39not least one of my favourites,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41England's greatest painter, Turner.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46For me, Piedmont is a food lover's paradise.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49There is something delectable here
0:01:49 > 0:01:51to tickle everyone's palate,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54from sweet to savoury, and always the finest quality.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01And this region is home to one of the most prized delicacies,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05it epitomises the wonderful, healthy food here - the truffle.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09'But sometimes in Piedmont, the best things are the hardest to find.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13'We are searching for one of these rare fungi with my friend, Sandrino,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15'in the forests near Asti.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:20HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:02:20 > 0:02:23We'll see if we can find a good truffle for breakfast.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24Vigo, guarda bene.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'The pure air, rich soil
0:02:27 > 0:02:30'and dense fog in this part of southern Piedmont
0:02:30 > 0:02:34'have created the perfect conditions for the best truffle to grow.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40'Sandrino's won the prestigious Golden Truffle award ten times
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'and if anyone can find one of these prized nuggets, it's him!'
0:02:44 > 0:02:46HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:02:46 > 0:02:53It always grows where the shadow of the tree is,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57it's never out of the shadow, it never grows in a sunny place, obviously because it's a fungus.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07So what's the dog doing at the moment? He's just...
0:03:07 > 0:03:09At the moment he's scouting.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18You can smell the ground.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Smell the ground.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25You can smell truffle in the air.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28There you are. He's disappointed because it's small.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32The next one will be more lucky.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37'The finest restaurants from all over the world clamour to secure
0:03:37 > 0:03:38'the pick of each year's harvest.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'And with truffle going for as much as £5.000 a kilo, the business
0:03:44 > 0:03:48'of finding these precious pearls is taken very seriously.'
0:03:56 > 0:03:57La museruola.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12They will put down some, some...
0:04:12 > 0:04:14His competitors will put down poisoned meat?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Yeah, poisoned meat.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- And that takes one more person out of all...- One less.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Has he found another one?
0:04:32 > 0:04:36There you are, that's a truffle, that's a big one.
0:04:38 > 0:04:39Help get it out.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41You don't want to break any off.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43OK, stop, stop.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Wow, like a potato!
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Wow, that's a...
0:04:47 > 0:04:49This is good for breakfast.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Yeah!
0:04:54 > 0:04:55This is good.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58That's really good. That is something.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00He's very happy.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05We're all pleased with you 'cos we can have breakfast now.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Sandrino, come on, give us some truffle.
0:05:14 > 0:05:175 euro, 10 euro, 50.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18GIORGIO LAUGHS
0:05:18 > 0:05:21It's too thick, it's too thick, Sandrino.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Wow, I'm just going to have to bite off the edge there.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33You rip off the little bit at the end.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Tear off the bit at the end. You use that as a sort of dipper?
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Yeah, that's right. That's right.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40Wow!
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Wow!
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It's just the smell of the ground,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53the smell of what nature smells like, isn't it?
0:05:53 > 0:05:54It's all in there.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59I think when you got the wood smoke it's like you're eating the wood itself.
0:06:03 > 0:06:04Wow.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07When they say it's a King's food, now you know why.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16'According to Sandrino, the best way to get underneath
0:06:16 > 0:06:19'the skin of Piedmont is to explore it by foot.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22'And since this is historically a land of pilgrimage,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25'we're following his advice.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28'We're on an ancient track called the Via Francigena.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33'1,000 years old, it once linked Canterbury to the eternal city of Rome.'
0:06:33 > 0:06:36So nowadays I suppose the pilgrimage route that leads to
0:06:36 > 0:06:40- Santa Maria de Compostela is the most famous, but...- Hmm.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- ...back in the Middle Ages...- Yeah.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45...the Via Francigena was the most popular pilgrimage route.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- Yeah.- From north to south.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50They used to believe that each mile that you walked was
0:06:50 > 0:06:53another day off for your eternal soul from purgatory.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55So you go to heaven more quickly.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57So we would be straight in paradise after this.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59ANDREW LAUGHS
0:06:59 > 0:07:00Each blister...
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'We're looking for the exit of the pathway,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07'where it opens out to reveal the Susa Valley,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09'just about 30 kilometres from the French border.'
0:07:11 > 0:07:14So, Andrew where are we? have you got the map?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17We should be at the bottom of the old donkey path.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Oh, La Mulatiera.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Which is where there's the...
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Vista panoramica.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26A panoramic view.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Not today.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32'Travelling pilgrims needed places to rest,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36'and the valley is dotted with beautiful monasteries and abbeys.'
0:07:38 > 0:07:44'One of the oldest, a real hidden gem, is the Abbey of Novalesa.'
0:07:44 > 0:07:47'Home to some fascinating art, it's still open to pilgrims today
0:07:47 > 0:07:51'and still home to a community of monks. This is Father Daniele.'
0:08:13 > 0:08:15So it's almost, seems to me
0:08:15 > 0:08:19it's a way of purifying yourself of the temptations of life.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23GIORGIO SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Si, si.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33You can only find it on the road.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37The place that you don't know, that's where you can find yourself.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- Arrivederci. - Arrivederci, grazie, grazie.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45Arrivederci.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53I've known for years that there are some wonderful 11th-century frescos
0:08:53 > 0:08:57in the chapels here, but I've never managed a visit before.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59It's not the easiest place to reach.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Look, I love it, it's almost a list of...
0:09:03 > 0:09:08"Silvestre Luigi came here on the 21st June, 1857."
0:09:08 > 0:09:101857!
0:09:10 > 0:09:15You've got there, somebody called Furla Giusi came in 1960, 1923.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18For a lot of people, writing your name on the wall
0:09:18 > 0:09:21might almost be a way of saying, "I hope my prayers come true."
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- OK.- It's almost like a way... This is not just graffiti,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27It's almost like praying in the form of graffiti.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Look at this!
0:09:31 > 0:09:33How old are these?
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Really, really, really old.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41This is very unusual to find paintings as old as this
0:09:41 > 0:09:43in such good condition
0:09:43 > 0:09:45up in the mountains with the damp air.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50'These paintings have a raw, almost primitive, energy.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54'The effect they had on travelling pilgrims can only be imagined.'
0:09:54 > 0:10:00These frescos were painted 960 years ago.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02Phew!
0:10:02 > 0:10:061070, four years after William the Conqueror was invading England,
0:10:06 > 0:10:081066 and all that.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13You come in and instantly you're under the eye of Christ.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Christ Pantocrator. It's this moment when Italian art
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and Byzantine art are really one and the same thing.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23If, all the way from Beirut to Dunfermline,
0:10:23 > 0:10:24Christianity is one thing.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29Here we've got Saint Eldradus, Saint Eldred.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31The story is, he was a very rich person
0:10:31 > 0:10:34and then he gives everything away and that's when
0:10:34 > 0:10:38he becomes a pelegrin because he gets given the stick...
0:10:38 > 0:10:40- Exactly. - The wooden stick and the bag.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41So you know the story?
0:10:41 > 0:10:43No, but it's pretty...
0:10:43 > 0:10:45It does really explain itself, doesn't it?
0:10:45 > 0:10:49And what's nice about this here and also makes it unusual,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53is that Saint Eldred actually was the head of this monastery.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57And he happens to be the patron saint of pilgrimage.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02So we have, as it were, a pilgrimage to the origin of pilgrimage.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04And that's when he becomes a monk.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07I love this, it sort of such, it's such cartoon language.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10He drops all his possessions and they
0:11:10 > 0:11:13place the monk's habit on him.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- Don't you think the colours are wonderful?- Wonderful.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Dyes made from the fruit and the vegetables from round here.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25There's probably dye made from, I don't know, blackberry juice
0:11:25 > 0:11:29or blueberry juice, there'd be dyes made from other vegetable compounds.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32It's really simple, made from the earth.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35You'd come out of the cold,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38the brothers would give you something simple to eat,
0:11:38 > 0:11:43and then you come here and here you get sustenance for your soul.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Yeah, sustenance for your body, and for your soul,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- ready to carry on the travel. - Ready to carry on to Rome.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Our modern pilgrimage through Piedmont now leads us
0:11:58 > 0:11:59to a very special location.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It seems to me that everything is connected to purity,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07spirituality, and responsibility here.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11And as so often in Italy, that includes the food.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14The Piedmontese defend the purity of the food chain,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18more than any other people that I can think of.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21So it makes sense that this place gives birth to
0:12:21 > 0:12:25the ethical food movement that's taken the world by storm.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Called Slow Food, it was founded by a good friend of mine.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30We're going to meet this guy.
0:12:30 > 0:12:36He is called Carlo Petrini, but everybody calls him Il Carlin.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40He's the leader maximum of the movement, he's the founder of it.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44He's a mercurial character, this guy. He's like a volcano of ideas.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48And it happened here in...we're just coming into the foothills so...
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- It's happened in Bra, yes. - We'll be there soon.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Not somebody you think is going to rock the world when you see it. OK.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Slow Food was founded in 1986
0:13:04 > 0:13:07in opposition to the growth of the fast food industry.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12It's now a global movement with over 100,000 members,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16and it's still rooted in the Piedmontese idea of preserving
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and protecting the tradition of regional food.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26We're meeting Carlo at the University Of Gastronomic Science
0:13:26 > 0:13:30outside Bra, an institute he founded to spread his ideas.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- Allora.- Allora.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07For example, Bordeaux, wonderful wine made from different grapes.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11What we're saying is, take the same attitude maybe to a tomato or
0:14:11 > 0:14:14an aubergine, maybe the price is less,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18but we still respect it and we still value it.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39He's giving weapons.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50It's a sweet revolution.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52- Cin-cin.- Salute.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53Cin!
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- I'll see you later.- See you.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Carlo's philosophy makes perfect sense in a region
0:15:02 > 0:15:05with such amazing producers.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10So I want to end the day by putting his principles into practice
0:15:10 > 0:15:12with a traditional menu.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I need some carrots for the marinade.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26These root vegetables are crying out for something rich
0:15:26 > 0:15:27and earthy to go with them.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Buongiorno.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33'Here in Piedmont, they love their hunting.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37'So the butcher always has the best game meats.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40'I can't think of a better dish to reflect
0:15:40 > 0:15:43'the traditional local cuisine than a stew of capriolo.'
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Oh, beautiful.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55The capriolo is a mountain deer so the meat tastes similar to venison.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57I'm sure Andrew's going to love it.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58Ah, fantastic.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Meanwhile, I get on with the much more serious business
0:16:08 > 0:16:10of choosing wine for dinner.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Piedmont is home to some of Italy's very greatest wines
0:16:14 > 0:16:17including my favourite red, Barolo.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Perfecto.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Back at our farmhouse, I set to work on our Piedmontese feast.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33There is no better way to make a rustic stew
0:16:33 > 0:16:36than on a real wood fire!
0:16:36 > 0:16:40If we want a little bit more power, there we are.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- The more air you allow in... - The more air I'm letting in...
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- The hotter it gets. - The hotter it's going to get.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47Brilliant. So no dials, no knobs.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Is that like an Italio Piedmontese version of an Aga?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54That was actually the same stove that my grandmother used to have.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55Really?
0:16:58 > 0:17:01You know, Andrew, this is not the Italian food that is just
0:17:01 > 0:17:03so famous all over the world, you know.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06The kind of...the Mediterranean diet, the olive oil.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Here you've got much more subtle flavours, and you know,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14and the vegetables are much more root vegetables so
0:17:14 > 0:17:18they sort of attach more to central Europe than southern Italy.
0:17:18 > 0:17:19Do you understand?
0:17:19 > 0:17:22In a sense, maybe it's a kind of Italian food that has more in common
0:17:22 > 0:17:25with certain aspects of English cooking. The climate's closer.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Definitely, but a bit better than English cooking, that's for sure.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30I'm saying nothing.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33It's a pretty good food for some pilgrims that have just
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- come down the hill.- Yes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41OK, so, Andrew, that's our capriolo. Smells fantastic.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Wow, so that's been marinated not in wine, but in vinegar.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45In vinegar.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Here is not balsamic land, this is white wine vinegar land.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51It's a great smell. It's very lean meat.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05What cut of the capriolo does this actually come from?
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- That would be a back leg, yeah. - It's been up and down the mountain?
0:18:08 > 0:18:10That's what it is, a really powerful animal.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12When you see them running...
0:18:12 > 0:18:14I've seen them when you walk in the mountains.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15They make you think,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- "How on earth did that animal get up there?"- That's it absolutely.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And how come it doesn't fall?
0:18:20 > 0:18:22It's almost like a cross between a deer and a cat.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24'It's time to pop the cork.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27'Barolo's a full bodied wine, it needs time to breathe.'
0:18:29 > 0:18:32HE MOANS HAPPILY
0:18:33 > 0:18:34I'm glad you approve.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38I'll tell you, this is the perfect wine for what we are going to eat.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45This is a real farmhouse dinner. Have you got the plates?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Er, I'll go and get them. That's what I need, a farmhouse dinner.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I don't think that the farmer would actually serve it
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- to you like that. - I was going to say, this is...
0:18:54 > 0:18:56But, you know, I'm just doing a little bit of the Locatelli twist.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Yeah, you are.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03'Stuffed onions, celeriac mash and a hearty portion of capriolo.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05'I have been longing for this all day!'
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Andrew, after such a long wait, there we are.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Dig in. - Una cena en campane proprio.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20You see, what is amazing is, you know, it doesn't look
0:19:20 > 0:19:24so attractive like the...you see, the colours are much more
0:19:24 > 0:19:28northern European colour of the food.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32It's white and grey. But how is it?
0:19:33 > 0:19:35- It's really good.- Is it?
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Really good, really rich.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41I was trying to think what it was, you know, why is it
0:19:41 > 0:19:45the Slow movement should have been born in northern Italy.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48And I was thinking that
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- various things seem to come together in this part.- Right.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55In the sense that it's always been a hotbed of intellectual thinkers.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58There's a very strong left-wing tradition in northern Italy.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00- And it's not like Communist type left-wing, but it's...- No.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03It's left wing in a sense of the small against the big.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04There is a saying in Piedmont.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09Contadino, contadino, scarpe grosse e cervello fino.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- ANDREW CHUCKLES - Which means...- I like it.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Farmer, farmer, big shoes but fine brain.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19- The farmer who thinks.- Hmm.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Which is Piedmontese.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- To the Piedmontese farmer. - Piedmontese.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30One thing that makes Piedmont so special
0:20:30 > 0:20:33is its fertile, diverse landscape.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35But that's not the whole story.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38There's also its rich cultural history
0:20:38 > 0:20:40and strong industrial heritage.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43The best way to uncover this other Piedmont
0:20:43 > 0:20:46is to take our pilgrimage to its greatest city, Turin.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Turin first flourished in the 16th century when
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Emanuele Filiberto of the powerful Savoy monarchy made it his capital.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01And in the 20th century, it became one of the most important
0:21:01 > 0:21:05industrial centres in Italy, thanks to Fiat and the Agnelli family.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09I know the best place to get an overview of the city,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13its most famous landmark, the Mole Antonelliana.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19At 167 metres high, it's Turin's Eiffel Tower.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Wow, look at that! What a view!
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I think a lot of people think of Turin because of its association
0:21:34 > 0:21:37with the automotive industry and Fiat, and factories,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39thinking of it as an industrial city.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Maybe you forget that actually at the centre,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45there's this wonderful, almost perfectly preserved Baroque city.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48It's actually quite French in feeling, isn't it?
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Absolutely, the whole thing really works.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55And it seems to me almost organised as a series of theatrical displays,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58the buildings are almost like stage sets.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00- Hmm, squares.- Long avenues. Yeah.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06It's a powerful city for a king, so not that many churches.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Not that many churches.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11More outstanding buildings, but less churches
0:22:11 > 0:22:13than you usually find in Italy.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16That's the Palazzo Reale where the Savoy royal family lives,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20and at the back of their residence in this otherwise crowded,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23completely built up Baroque town, guess what?
0:22:23 > 0:22:27A huge park, as if to proclaim the fact that they rule the roost here.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29You know, we can afford just to have a garden.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31- And now it's a public park. - Now it's a public park.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38The Savoys were ambitious and wanted a city to reflect
0:22:38 > 0:22:41their power and wealth.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Almost everywhere you turn
0:22:43 > 0:22:46you're greeted by imposing Baroque architecture.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51But for my money, the most impressive of all
0:22:51 > 0:22:53is the Palazzina di Stupinigi.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59'It was designed by Filippo Juvarra in 1729,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03'as a hunting lodge for Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.'
0:23:03 > 0:23:07It's modelled on Versailles, isn't it? It feels like Versailles.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09'And that's no coincidence.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'Victor Amadeus was married to Louis XIV's niece
0:23:12 > 0:23:14'and the Savoys were close to the French court.'
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- That looks like Wedgwood, Andrew? - Wedgewood-style cabinet.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22It's sort of an index of everything that was fashionable
0:23:22 > 0:23:23in the 18th century.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Juvarra was also a talented stage set designer
0:23:28 > 0:23:32and this place has a real sense of theatre.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Nowhere more so than the grand central hall.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Wow, Andrew, it looks like a cathedral.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41- Wow.- Like a church.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44It is a kind of, well, it's a profane cathedral.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46It's a profane cathedral, I love that.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48It's a cathedral to the goddess of hunting.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52You look up and you think, "Oh, is that the Virgin Mary?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55"Oh, no, it's Diana, it's the triumph of Diana."
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Oh, yes. Il triumphe di Diana.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01There are bows and arrows and dogs and dead animals
0:24:01 > 0:24:04and hunters and huntresses all over this room.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08They weren't great patrons of the arts, they weren't great readers,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12they weren't great patrons of music, but they loved their hunting.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Also, I love the idea, they have statue underneath here,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20- but then up there they are not, they are painting.- Trompe l'oeil.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23It's all about plenty, isn't it? It's all about abundance.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25That's what it looks like.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27You know, "Whatever there is, we've got plenty of it,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30"and if we haven't got it, we'll go and catch some."
0:24:33 > 0:24:35And there's one place where their appetite for abundance
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and ownership is strikingly clear.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44It's located in a secret chamber, high up above the impressive cupola.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Isn't it fantastic?
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The smell is absolutely brilliant.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53It's like tobacco and wood and...
0:24:53 > 0:24:55- HE INHALES - Mmm, delicious.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06"Who rules? We rule."
0:25:07 > 0:25:09It's a statement of power, isn't it?
0:25:09 > 0:25:13It is indeed. Look at that. It's so geometrical as well.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16There must be an explanation why there is this, like, avenue
0:25:16 > 0:25:21that's going out like that or is it just a show-off piece?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23I think it's like, er,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27it's that Louis XIV idea of the Sun King, the king is the sun.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29This palace is like the sun,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33it occupies the centre of Piedmont and its rays...
0:25:34 > 0:25:39..symmetrically stretch to every corner of the land.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41You definitely know who's in charge!
0:25:41 > 0:25:43You certainly do!
0:25:47 > 0:25:50By the 19th century, Piedmont, under the Savoys,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53was one of the most powerful Italian states.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Supported by the monarchy
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and spearheaded by the Prime Minister, Count Camillo Cavour,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01the movement to unify Italy was born right here in Turin.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Learned and clever, Cavour loved to discuss ideas, and in the
0:26:09 > 0:26:14vibrant cafe culture of 19th-century Turin, he found the perfect place.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Fiorio was Cavour's favourite cafe, almost his office.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22It was so influential
0:26:22 > 0:26:25it's said the King himself would ask every morning,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27"What are they saying in Fiorio?"
0:26:27 > 0:26:31The cafe was like an informal parliament where Cavour
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and his followers could speak freely.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:26:36 > 0:26:38I love this noise.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41There you are, Andrew, we are in the place.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44There is the picture of the man himself.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- Grazie.- What is this?
0:26:46 > 0:26:52This is called Bicerin. And it's coffee, chocolate and cream.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54So very, very dietetic drink.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56ANDREW LAUGHS
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Mmm, oh, that is delicious.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Cavour plotted the campaign to unify Italy right here in Fiorio.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06It was Cavour and the King who were
0:27:06 > 0:27:10the power behind Giuseppe Garibaldi's military campaign.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Garibaldi was like the way we see Che Guevara now,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16that sort of freedom fighter.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21They absolutely used his image in order to get that
0:27:21 > 0:27:23general popular approval.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27You know, because themselves they were pretty ascetic people,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30they didn't have much in common with the common man.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33It's a popular uprising in a sense in that the people greet
0:27:33 > 0:27:37- and they welcome Garibaldi's conquering army...- That's right.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39..as it moves south, but essentially this is,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43- this is a movement that is sponsored by the King.- Hmm.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46- Our man Cavour is a monarchist. - Yeah.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49What are the ultimate consequences of this for this region,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51for Piedmont?
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Piedmont suddenly becomes the most important region of Italy.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58It collected taxes from all Italy.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01And Rome didn't become the capital,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03but Turin become the capital of Italy.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Or the first capital of Italy.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10- Let's drink some more chocolate. - To us.- Food for thought.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17The city's cafe culture is still alive and well.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21I've never seen such an amazing range of pastries and chocolates.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24The Turinese really do have a sweet tooth.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29They especially love chocolate here,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33and were once the world's leading producer of the stuff.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38Ferrero Rocher and Nutella both hail from Piedmont.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Oh, the smell! Unbelievable.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45We can't miss a quick visit to one of the best chocolatiers in town,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47the laboratory of Guido Gobino.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Here, they specialise in a very Turinese style of chocolate,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54il Giandujotto.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58The story goes, that the Giandujotto was created
0:28:58 > 0:29:00during Napoleon's brief rule,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04when importing cocoa from South America was almost impossible.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Always resourceful, the Turinese chocolate makers decide to concoct
0:29:08 > 0:29:11a paste from local hazelnuts
0:29:11 > 0:29:15and combine it with the cocoa to make their supply last longer.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19What might have been a disadvantage was turned into a winning formula!
0:29:19 > 0:29:23We're having a Giandujotto tasting with Guido himself.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26His family have been chocolate makers for 50 years.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31I remember this, eating this when I was little.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Bellissimo.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35The nuts and the chocolate go together very well.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37How would you recommend that one has this,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40with an espresso as well at the same time or...?
0:29:40 > 0:29:44An espresso maybe or a Moscato wine
0:29:44 > 0:29:47- because it's very flavoured, fruity...- Fruity.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52Or Barolo Chinato or red wine. A spiced red wine.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54You think that the Giandujotto success is attached to
0:29:54 > 0:29:57the fact that it's based on the Nutella flavouring?
0:29:57 > 0:29:59As you say, the grown-up Nutella.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Yeah, no, you still have the memory of your childhood.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04The memory of the...it brings you back to that.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08We thank Nutella because Nutella is the first flavour that people,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12young, young boys taste normally in the world.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14Because you can find Nutella everywhere.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17So you're still making these, these little objects
0:30:17 > 0:30:21and you make them all here, but you sell them all over the world?
0:30:21 > 0:30:24We export everywhere, in small quantities of course,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28because we are an artisanal production.
0:30:28 > 0:30:34When I am abroad in Japan for example, in Emirates,
0:30:34 > 0:30:39when people taste Giandujotto, they love it because
0:30:39 > 0:30:44it's a very, very interesting taste.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46And it is not a traditional taste
0:30:46 > 0:30:49- like bitter chocolate or rich chocolate...- Yes.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53This is very different and this is the real chocolate
0:30:53 > 0:30:55because it's made in Turin.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00It is incredible, a place that has such a tradition,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03where chocolate is part of their life,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07and they're not the capital of the chocolate.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Or they are, but they don't kind of show it.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14It's a philosophy of Turinese people
0:31:14 > 0:31:18to work hard and to make everything as good as possible.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22Technology for example, chocolate, food,
0:31:22 > 0:31:29it's not important to show off that we are the best.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32They are a bit understated, like the English.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35- ANDREW LAUGHS Understatement, yes.- Understatement.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37- Understatement is a good word for us.- Yeah.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40- Maybe we should very quietly... - Say goodbye.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42..Wish Guido good luck.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- Grazie, Guido.- Ciao. Grazie.- Grazie.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Andiamo.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Dedication and hard work really are in the blood of the Turinese.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Turin, like its neighbour Milan,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59fosters the tradition of a strong work ethic.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02It's what the city's success is built on.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07And there's one company more than any other responsible for that success.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Fiat.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13Founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli, it flourished in the post-war years,
0:32:13 > 0:32:19when money from the Marshall Plan kick-started Italy's economic boom.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Fiat's enormous Lingotto factory
0:32:21 > 0:32:23became a nucleus for the city's workers.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27In the '50s and '60s, hundreds of thousands of immigrants
0:32:27 > 0:32:31from southern Italy settled in the surrounding area to work for Fiat.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33- This is the Lingotto... - This is the famous Lingotto factory.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35This is the Lingotto factory.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37So this reminds me of the Palazzo Stupinigi,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40the Savoy monarch has gone, but now we've got the Fiat family.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43- Yeah.- They're the kings of the new economic miracle.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46And the familia Agnelli were the family at the head of
0:32:46 > 0:32:49this corporation of industrialists,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53that really had experience, after travelling to America,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58to really pick up this American dream and give it to the Italians.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03So was Fiat, in a sense, the General Motors of its day in Italy?
0:33:03 > 0:33:06You know, this is the model T. Everyone is going to drive this car.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Everyone can afford to drive this car.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Definitely, and to make something reasonably cheap enough
0:33:11 > 0:33:15for them to drive around was part of this.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Fiat was right at the heart of that.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24And my stand-out favourite of those affordable cars
0:33:24 > 0:33:26is the Cinquecento.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Cheap and cheerful, it's become an icon!
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Thanks to the passion and dedication of specialist mechanics,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36these vintage cars are still on the road today.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43I have been told the workshop of Michele and Mauro Miola is packed
0:33:43 > 0:33:45full of Cinquecentos in restoration.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49It's a must for a fan like me.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Mauro?
0:33:58 > 0:34:00- Michele?- Buongiorno, Michele.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14If you're from a Catholic family where, you know, the mother
0:34:14 > 0:34:16and the father keep an eye on the children,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19maybe this is the first place that you're actually private.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I'm sure that a lot of the kids that are in their 50s now
0:34:22 > 0:34:24were conceived in this car.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26THEY ALL LAUGH
0:34:37 > 0:34:38THEY ALL LAUGH
0:34:38 > 0:34:40He remembers which car!
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Andrew, look at this. No way!
0:35:02 > 0:35:06This is so beautiful. Oh!
0:35:06 > 0:35:08That is something, isn't it?
0:35:09 > 0:35:12That's like a showpiece. Bellisimo.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14It's a beautiful piece of design, isn't it?
0:35:14 > 0:35:16Yes, definitely.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20I can't leave without getting behind the wheel
0:35:20 > 0:35:23of one of the Miolas' precious 500s!
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Gently. Yeah, gently.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29- Convince her, don't, er... - Convince her.
0:35:29 > 0:35:30Yeah, have you...?
0:35:30 > 0:35:32CAR RUMBLES AND GROANS
0:35:32 > 0:35:33Brakes would be nice as well.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40You feel like you're driving a piece of history.
0:35:40 > 0:35:41ENGINE RUMBLES
0:35:41 > 0:35:43It's more like you're destroying a piece of history.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46- ANDREW LAUGHS - You've got to be more kind.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53So you see, it's that the car changed society completely.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57At every level. Because, like, a vet, a doctor, a nurse,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59you are in a remote village,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01suddenly you call and they can come to you now.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04So it is a part of society.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07That, I think, is why the people love it so much.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10I can imagine perhaps someone who's come from Sicily,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12- they come to the north.- Yeah.
0:36:12 > 0:36:13What a sensation
0:36:13 > 0:36:18when they go back to their village in their brand new Cinquecento.
0:36:18 > 0:36:24And show off they have become a modern man in modern society.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25ENGINE ROARS
0:36:25 > 0:36:29I love the sound when you put a bit of gas on.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31ENGINE ROARS
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Andiamo.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40The economic boom years were also the glory years
0:36:40 > 0:36:42of a great Italian art movement.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Arte Povera emerged here in Piedmont in the '60s,
0:36:45 > 0:36:50as a kind of protest against the rapid industrialisation of Italy.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54The artists of the movement took the ordinary materials
0:36:54 > 0:36:57of everyday life and used them to make art.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01The Museum Of Contemporary Art in Rivoli, on the outskirts
0:37:01 > 0:37:05of Turin, has an unrivalled collection of Arte Povera.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09A world away from the opulence of the Baroque,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12it's down to earth, almost homemade!
0:37:13 > 0:37:15I wonder what Giorgio will make of it.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22So this is probably the most famous work of Arte Povera.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Venus Of The Rags, it's called. By Michelangelo Pistoletto.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32And I think, being Italian, of course he's thinking about the past,
0:37:32 > 0:37:37thinking about statues of Venus, but I think what he's saying to us is,
0:37:37 > 0:37:43"How do you represent a person, how do you represent a human being?"
0:37:43 > 0:37:48For me, the rags could be a portrait of a person.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Perhaps through all the clothes they ever wore.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53- All his life.- Yeah.- That's right.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56If you imagine like a huge pile of laundry.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00That's everything you ever wore, your body was in there,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02in there, in there, in there, in there, in there.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04And this is a kind of accumulation.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07So either you are this permanent ideal figure
0:38:07 > 0:38:09or actually, maybe not.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Maybe you are more imperfect, you are more ragged.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Maybe your life is a process rather than a state.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22So I want to know what you think of this.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24It's kind of like a portrait of Italy by another member
0:38:24 > 0:38:28of the Arte Povera generation, he's called Luciano Fabro.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32This is a tombino, this is a pothole cover.
0:38:34 > 0:38:35I like it.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37It's two Italys. One upside down.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40And then Sicily and Sardinia stuck on it.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43It's funny. I mean, here is where they made Italy,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45so it's almost like...
0:38:45 > 0:38:46ANDREW LAUGHS
0:38:46 > 0:38:49You know, the first concept of Italy was born here,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53and so now to have an artist do this and turn it upside-down
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and stick the bits together, I guess it's got to do with that.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02So again, it's the ordinary material of working everyday Italian life.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04The rust as well I like.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08- Yeah.- The rust is beautiful, isn't it? Look at that.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12I mean, how do you make a portrait of Italy?
0:39:12 > 0:39:14- I think it's quite a good one.- Hmm.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23There's a piece here by my favourite Arte Povera artist, Giuseppe Penone.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Unsurprisingly for a Piedmontese artist,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30his work focuses on man's relationship with nature.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35This room is made entirely of laurel leaves.
0:39:35 > 0:39:36It's beautifully quiet.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41HE INHALES
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Wow, that smells fantastic!
0:39:46 > 0:39:49What's that? Is that a pair of lungs?
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Yeah. It's a bronze cast of laurel wreaths.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56It's like, you know Slow Food?
0:39:56 > 0:39:59I think this is...
0:39:59 > 0:40:01- For me, this is slow art.- Slow art.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03You just let it work on you.
0:40:05 > 0:40:06It's a funny thing...
0:40:08 > 0:40:10We're indoors and we're in an art gallery,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12but I feel if I close my eyes I'm almost back
0:40:12 > 0:40:15to the beginning of where we started our trip,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18that little sort of chapel on the edge of the valley.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20It's a room for contemplation.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Maybe this is like a modern artist's version of a pilgrimage chapel.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28- And the God is nature.- Absolutely.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32I also like the idea that you come in here
0:40:32 > 0:40:36and you're breathing in these things so it stays in your lungs,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39and you're taking a bit away with you. I think it's lovely.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41- So you've become part of it. - You are part of it.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43I think that's part of its meaning.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49I've seen Penone's work in museums all over the world.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53But seeing it here confirms just how deep-rooted his connection is
0:40:53 > 0:40:54to his homeland.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00And that connection is so totally Piedmontese.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Their commitment to the land has produced one of the most
0:41:03 > 0:41:07fertile territories in Europe, and the rice fields of Vercelli
0:41:07 > 0:41:10in the plains north of Turin are the most prized.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15The locals have worked hard for centuries to cultivate
0:41:15 > 0:41:17the best conditions to produce rice here.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22And now there are more than 100 varieties grown
0:41:22 > 0:41:26in these paddy fields - the most popular is carnoroli.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29For our chefs, it's the king of risotto rice.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33I want to show you these guys, because it's so beautiful,
0:41:33 > 0:41:35come and have a look.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41Look at this.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44So, this is straight out of the field.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- This is what I eat in my risotto? - Yes.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53These are the pearls of the Baragge, the rice from this rice field.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55If you came here in the first half of the year
0:41:55 > 0:41:59this would be almost like a landscape from China, like a paddy field?
0:41:59 > 0:42:01These would be more like Chinese paddy fields,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03because they would be small paddy fields.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06You can see also they are in different levels in order to work
0:42:06 > 0:42:08with the water, so you have different levels of it,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12and it's a very small tenement all the time.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15And is this a natural microclimate for rice, then?
0:42:15 > 0:42:19- The cold air, that makes it just right?- Just perfect.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21And, also, the perfect, beautiful,
0:42:21 > 0:42:23pure water that comes from the mountains.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25I would imagine that cold air's bad for a crop,
0:42:25 > 0:42:27- but for rice it's not bad, is it? - It strengthens it.
0:42:27 > 0:42:33This area has received the DOP, the Denominazione Origine Protetta,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37so protected denomination of origins,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40because this has been proved, it is...
0:42:40 > 0:42:44You cannot produce anything equal to that anywhere else.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47This rice has been crossbred
0:42:47 > 0:42:52and made to what it is through years of experience of the people.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58The exceptional rice grown here has made the Vercelli
0:42:58 > 0:43:00the rice trading capital of Europe.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05The town's rice market, the Borsa Vercelli,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08is the Wall Street of the rice world,
0:43:08 > 0:43:10and the price set here each week
0:43:10 > 0:43:12becomes standard across all of Europe.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16It's a fascinating game of nerve.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20The floor is packed with millers and brokers, haggling over prices.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25So, here you'll have the broker,
0:43:25 > 0:43:29and the miller will check out the quality of the rice.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Look, now he's changing the board,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34and he's going to look on the whiteboard to see.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40Oh, I see, so he's looking for slightly discoloured grains?
0:43:40 > 0:43:41That's right.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44He says there is a lot of them discoloured, and broken ones,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46and there's a lot of them slightly grey.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50So he's saying to him, "There's quite a lot of grey ones in here,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53"I can't give you the top dollar cos it's not best quality."
0:43:53 > 0:43:56- And he's saying, "No, no, come on, it's not that bad."- That's right.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59I love these two boards. It's almost like a game of chess.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01This must have been used for hundreds
0:44:01 > 0:44:03and hundreds of years, this system.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07'The broker, Giacomo, and miller, Giuseppe, are busy haggling.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11'But they seem to be struggling to come to a deal.'
0:44:11 > 0:44:14What price do you want from Giuseppe?
0:44:14 > 0:44:18Yes, I want 350 euros per tonne.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22Today, our margin is around 330.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25Giacomo looks very interested at this point.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27- Yes, OK, so 330. - You can barter for me, eh?
0:44:27 > 0:44:29For him it's important,
0:44:29 > 0:44:33because as the rice there dries ready to go, he wants to get
0:44:33 > 0:44:38rid of it, otherwise he cannot pick up any others, do you understand?
0:44:38 > 0:44:41He knows that, so it's going to be a little bit of a tug there.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43So, can you help in some way, Giorgio?
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Maybe you could be a diplomat.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48I think that they've been going on like that for the last 1,000 years,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51I don't think they need our help, I'm telling you.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56These hidden sides of Piedmont, little tales, chance meetings,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59are showing me a whole new side to a region I've always loved.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Back in the '80s, when I first visited,
0:45:03 > 0:45:07it was the art that opened my eyes to Piedmont's special character.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14And, on that trip, one place in particular caught my imagination.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20The UNESCO protected heritage site called the Sacro Monte di Varallo,
0:45:20 > 0:45:22an hour's drive from Vercelli.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25This extraordinary place of pilgrimage is made up
0:45:25 > 0:45:28of 45 little chapels, each representing a scene
0:45:28 > 0:45:30from the life of Christ.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33First constructed in the late 1400s,
0:45:33 > 0:45:36it's evolved and expanded over the centuries.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39It might not be high art, but for me, it's as fundamental
0:45:39 > 0:45:42as the great masterpieces of the Renaissance
0:45:42 > 0:45:44in creating the culture of this land.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49There's one chapel in particular I want to show Giorgio.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52It's stayed with me since my first visit here -
0:45:52 > 0:45:57a gory, violent interpretation of the Massacre of the Innocents.
0:45:57 > 0:46:02I think you really understand what the effect these sculptures
0:46:02 > 0:46:05were meant to have on people when you look at this one.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09The appeal is not to the head, the appeal is to the heart,
0:46:09 > 0:46:13and this horrible scene of children being massacred.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15It is a real...
0:46:15 > 0:46:18It's a real... It's hard to look at.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24I think it makes you feel really sad, and really worried.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26I'm sure if you were here with your kids,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28you'd just grasp them and walk away.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33I think it takes you to the scene almost too well.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37The attention to detail is stunning, down to the sword,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40and really you can see it entering the body.
0:46:42 > 0:46:47Look at the sufferance of the mother trying to save the baby.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Screaming, you can almost hear them screaming.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Well, I think it's there to put...
0:46:54 > 0:46:57- The fear. - ..the fear of God into you.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01I mean, it's definitely, this place, this whole sacred mountain...
0:47:03 > 0:47:06..is a kind of machine,
0:47:06 > 0:47:11made to ingrain faith in the people who came here,
0:47:11 > 0:47:15- to really make them believe. - In a very spectacular way.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Yes, if you don't pray to God, if you don't behave like a good,
0:47:19 > 0:47:22devout Christian, you know, maybe these things will happen to you.
0:47:22 > 0:47:27Each chapel is like one scene in an unfolding story.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Yes, like a modern film, almost.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33You're going through, you've got to know there is going to be
0:47:33 > 0:47:35the final thing, the resurrection,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38but you still have to go through all the thought
0:47:38 > 0:47:40and the pain and everything else.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44The chapel I want to take a look at
0:47:44 > 0:47:46is the one representing the Last Supper.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50- Quite a spread. - It is quite a spread.
0:47:50 > 0:47:56And what is amazing, look, they don't have just bread and wine,
0:47:56 > 0:48:00like in the Bible, but they've got all the produce from this area.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04Look, there's freshwater fish, like trout and things like that.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07You've got two different types of cheese in there, and you can
0:48:07 > 0:48:09actually recognise them very well, because the one on the right,
0:48:09 > 0:48:13that's a castelmagno, and that one, because it's got a red skin,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16is castelrosso, which are really typical cheeses from this area.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18So they were eating, as well,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20something that the people actually knew.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Yeah, yeah, so you can actually identify the cheeses
0:48:23 > 0:48:27- as being from here?- The two different cheeses, from here.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Well, I think that was the idea,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32because in the instruction manuals for the artists of the time,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35it always says, "Make the people feel at home."
0:48:35 > 0:48:39You know, it shouldn't feel like it is 2,000 years ago in the Holy Land,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42it should feel as if it's taking place in Piedmont,
0:48:42 > 0:48:43and that's what they have done.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46I would have liked to cook this dinner.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53After seeing the various stages of Christ's life,
0:48:53 > 0:48:58we get to the chapel where the story reaches its climax - the Crucifixion.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03At this moment, the maximum moment of empathy,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06where you're supposed to feel Christ's suffering,
0:49:06 > 0:49:10you're allowed to occupy the same space as his mother,
0:49:10 > 0:49:15you're allowed to occupy the same space as the Disciples looking up.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17You are really touched by it.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20You feel like you've seen every scene,
0:49:20 > 0:49:26and it has a little bit of that sort of feeling of a theme park...
0:49:26 > 0:49:28but for the soul.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33Well, in a sense, the modern theme park is a debased version of this.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35You know, Disneyland - you make the pilgrimage to go there,
0:49:35 > 0:49:37you know the stories, you've seen the films,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40and now you meet the characters, you shake hands.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Except all the spiritual content has been removed,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46and whereas you end your visit to Disneyland, perhaps,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48with a trip to the shop, here...
0:49:48 > 0:49:54you end your visit by going down into the basement of the church
0:49:54 > 0:49:58and paying your respects to the holy image of the Madonna.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07The basement chapel is like a people's museum
0:50:07 > 0:50:08of faith and devotion,
0:50:08 > 0:50:12a place where they offer remembrance, or give thanks.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19What I love about it is, it's like a history of the kind of accidents
0:50:19 > 0:50:23that could have befallen you in Piedmont over the centuries.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27Here we've got somebody who got attacked by a highwayman.
0:50:27 > 0:50:28That's right.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31Here you've got a terrible rail crash that
0:50:31 > 0:50:35- occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, and then...- To electricity.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37To electricity, accident.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39To go more recent,
0:50:39 > 0:50:43you remember, a few months ago, the Costa Concordia?
0:50:43 > 0:50:46There must be somebody who was on the Costa Concordia,
0:50:46 > 0:50:49- and he felt that the Madonna blessed him.- That's right.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53It's not necessarily that you just came to pray that you would be saved.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55If something happened to you and you had a close shave...
0:50:55 > 0:50:59- Very close shave. - ..then you attributed to...
0:50:59 > 0:51:02- ..to the fact that your faith allowed...- ..saved you.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04I suppose it just shows that, for many people,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07the church is still the first port of call.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10This is from 1807.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13and what happened is this Alfonso Cabora,
0:51:13 > 0:51:15captain of the Italian Regiment,
0:51:15 > 0:51:21had received two shots, and the Maria Santissima saved him.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Isn't that amazing?
0:51:23 > 0:51:26That you've got the Napoleonic Wars, someone surviving that,
0:51:26 > 0:51:31cheek by jowl with someone surviving a bicycle accident in the '50s.
0:51:31 > 0:51:32Grazia Ricevuta.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36- There must be 1,000 human stories in here.- Absolutely.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44Our journey through Piedmont has been so rich and full of variety.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47I feel we have seen most of the special things
0:51:47 > 0:51:49this wonderful region has to offer.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Well, all except one.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54We've still not visited any of the great wine producers
0:51:54 > 0:51:56this region is so famous for.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00That's because I saved it for last.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02We are going to spend the evening at Contratto,
0:52:02 > 0:52:06one of the great historic wine houses of the Langhe.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08I know the guy who owns the place.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10I am so excited about it, because it has been
0:52:10 > 0:52:14bought by a friend of mine, called Giorgio Rivetti.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Which is that guy there. Giorgio!
0:52:17 > 0:52:19- Come stai?- Benissimo, Giorgio. - Fantastico.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23- Nice to see you. Hey, Andrew. - Thanks for having us.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26A pleasure. Thank you, thank you for coming here.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28This is a new place, new house!
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Yes, something new for me, something exciting.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33You know me. I love to produce Barbaresco and Barolo,
0:52:33 > 0:52:35but my passion is about bubbles, too.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40'Giorgio is one of the best wine producers in Piedmont,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43'so it's exciting he's turning his hand to sparkling wine.'
0:52:45 > 0:52:47'And we can't miss a tour of the cellar,
0:52:47 > 0:52:51'the secret of the success of the Contratto champagne method wine.'
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Wow! This is a cathedral!
0:52:56 > 0:53:00UNESCO protected, these wine cellars where dug out of the old
0:53:00 > 0:53:04limestone hills of Canelli in the 19th century.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08Ingenious local winemakers discovered the constant temperature
0:53:08 > 0:53:11of 13 degrees inside created the perfect conditions
0:53:11 > 0:53:14to ferment the wine naturally.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17Giorgio's always got his eye on business,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20but he hasn't lost sight of the small, but important,
0:53:20 > 0:53:22rituals of winemaking.
0:53:23 > 0:53:2630,000 bottles a day are turned manually here
0:53:26 > 0:53:28to loosen the sediment inside.
0:53:30 > 0:53:31Hello, Mario.
0:53:38 > 0:53:39Do you mind?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Don't mess around, Andrew.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58- Andrew, like that. - OK, go on, Giorgio.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04- Eh, no.- No?
0:54:05 > 0:54:07I missed the one in the middle?
0:54:10 > 0:54:12I think you are better in the kitchen!
0:54:13 > 0:54:15'After turning the bottles,'
0:54:15 > 0:54:17the sediment inside must be released
0:54:17 > 0:54:19so the wine can be laid down to mature.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23This is the bit I've been waiting for.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Wow!
0:54:29 > 0:54:31That is brilliant! No way!
0:54:31 > 0:54:34Because this wine is in life, it has life inside.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36- Look, half of the bottle shot off.- Yeah.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41That was incredible! Giorgio, man!
0:54:45 > 0:54:48I'm scared to open it now, after what I saw downstairs!
0:54:48 > 0:54:52- Don't worry. - It's going to be a shower.
0:54:52 > 0:54:53CORK POPPING
0:54:53 > 0:54:55It smells quite sweet.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58It's got the... Like a crust, bread crust.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01Yes, typical for sparkling wine.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04- Salute.- Salute. Cheers.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11- I can imagine this with some fish. - Oh, yes. Oysters, too.- Oysters!
0:55:11 > 0:55:13Piedmont is a corner of paradise, really.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17We have a lot of beautiful grapes, and this beautiful land.
0:55:17 > 0:55:2199% of the top wine producers in Piedmont are farmers.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23This is something special.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26They know everything about a vineyard,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29they respect the environment because they do everything organic, OK?
0:55:29 > 0:55:31They do a beautiful job in the vineyard
0:55:31 > 0:55:34and are purchasing a small quantity of fruit, small quantity of wine,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36but the wines are unbelievable.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39And they're probably doing the same thing that their father did,
0:55:39 > 0:55:42- and maybe THEIR father did. - Looking after the land.- Yeah.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44So, although you're a large producer,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48- you want to keep the philosophy of the small producer.- Yes, of course.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52No, really, the farming philosophy, this is important for me.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54I don't want to change this, of course.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- Here's hoping you never do change it. Cheers.- Cheers.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59- To us and to Piedmont. - Piedmont.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02If Giorgio and his kind stick around,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05there really won't be any space for a big multinational here.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12He reminds me of the old Piedmontese saying -
0:56:12 > 0:56:15farmer, farmer - big shoes but sharp brains.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21And the heart of Piedmont for me will always be the countryside,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24the original source of everything that is so magical
0:56:24 > 0:56:26about this hidden gem of Italy.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Our pilgrimage has come full circle.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32You see, Andrew, when I think about Piedmontese,
0:56:32 > 0:56:34I always think about people
0:56:34 > 0:56:37with an incredible amount of resilience, you know.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39They really are...
0:56:39 > 0:56:43They fight things over and they turn things over, and they made it,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47they rule it, the first capital of Italy.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51Here they have people like Carlo Petrini, coming in and saying,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55"Listen, you've got a great amount of value on this land."
0:56:55 > 0:56:58I keep coming back to these leaves.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00Sandrino's dog, snuffling among the leaves.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04- Even the artwork is made of the leaves!- That's right!
0:57:04 > 0:57:07That beautiful piece by Penone. There's this real...
0:57:07 > 0:57:11I think this sense of connection to the land so strong here.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13It seems to me, it feels to me,
0:57:13 > 0:57:17as if the cultura populara is now on the way up.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20In fact, that's what people come here for now.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22What do you think your favourite experience has been?
0:57:22 > 0:57:24What do you remember?
0:57:24 > 0:57:25For me, the most magic moment
0:57:25 > 0:57:29was when Sandrino's dogs got the truffle out of the ground.
0:57:29 > 0:57:36It's such a moment, isn't it, to find this pearl hidden away?
0:57:36 > 0:57:39It's fantastic, and it just puts me back, you know,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42I'm sitting in London trying to sell these things to people,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45and suddenly here I am, just picking it out of the ground.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47It's magic for me, that.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50I'll be coming back for that experience of the soil,
0:57:50 > 0:57:54for the humble pilgrimage church, the terracotta statues at Varallo,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58for the experience of eating funghi porcini,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00and the venison that you cooked.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02- The truffle.- Of course.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05- Andiamo.- Va va.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11So, where do you think we should go next?
0:58:11 > 0:58:15I think the best place to go now is for lunch, man.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17HE LAUGHS
0:58:34 > 0:58:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd