Why You Should Plan a Trip to Piedmont
Issue #6
Piedmont—Piemonte in Italian—usually isn’t the first place people visit when they travel to Italy. When I went for the first time in 2018, it had already been on my radar for some time, but considering the fact that my first trip to Italy was in 2008, it took me a good long while to get there. I’ve been back twice since that first trip, most recently in September, and I can’t get enough. With rolling hills dotted with vineyards, charming Medieval towns, and fantastic food and wine, it’s kind of like Tuscany but less touristy. A couple of people have asked me for Piedmont tips ahead of their own trips recently, so I figured I would dedicate this issue to the region.
Located in northwestern Italy, Piedmont is famous for wine, truffles, and hazelnuts. Italy’s prized—and pricey—Barolos and Barbarescos hail from Piedmont, making it a particularly tempting destination for oenophiles. From the 15th century until Italy’s unification in 1861, the Savoy dynasty of France ruled over a large swath of the areas that now make up Piedmont, France, and Switzerland, and a bit of a regal French influence can still be felt to this day, especially in the capital of Turin. Even after Vittorio Emanuele II became Italy’s first king in 1861, the house of Savoy (Savoia in Italian) remained in power until 1946, when the Italian people voted on a referendum abolishing the monarchy and establishing a republic.
The first time I visited Piedmont, I started in Turin and then visited a bit of the countryside. My subsequent trips have been dedicated to exploring the Langhe Hills and the nearby Monferrato and Roero, which were hard-scrabble rural areas until the 1970s and are now home to some of Italy’s most prestigious vineyards, where parcels of land are easily worth €1-2 million per hectare. They’re also home to a rather surprising contemporary art scene, which I wrote about for Condé Nast Traveller (the UK edition). If you want to visit Piedmont, you could split your time between the city and the country by spending a couple of nights in Turin and then staying in or around Alba, which is the most strategic base for exploring wine country. Keep in mind that if you want to explore the countryside, visit some wineries, and see the contemporary art installations, you’ll need a car.
Turin (Torino in Italian) is one of Italy’s most elegant cities, full of stately architecture and Old World cafés. I have to admit that I’ve barely scratched the surface, but I spent a memorable evening at Del Cambio, which was established in 1757 and today incorporates a fine dining restaurant, the Farmacia del Cambio pasticceria, and the chic Bar Cavour. If you go, try a vermouth-based cocktail like the Milano Torino (equal parts sweet vermouth and a red bitter such as Campari) in honor of Antonio Bendetto Carpano, who’s credited with creating the first modern vermouth recipe in 1786 in Turin.
The next time I go to Piedmont, I would like to spend more time in Turin, visiting the royal palaces (there are over a dozen) as well as the Castello di Rivoli Modern Art Museum, which was the birthplace of Italy’s Arte Povera movement. Turin is also home to Italy’s premier Egyptian Museum as well as Italy’s National Automobile Museum. (Turin is the birthplace of several Italian car companies, including Fiat.)
The city that has drawn me back on all my trips so far is Alba, home to the prized white truffles. While black truffles are available year-round and can be found in several regions, including Tuscany and Umbria, white truffles are much rarer and are only in season in the fall and winter. Every year, Alba hosts a white truffle festival (currently on through December 4th). But even if you visit outside of truffle season, as we did this year, you can still buy plenty of truffle-based products at shops around town. We always go straight to Tartufi Morra, the OG truffle purveyor since 1930 that put Alba white truffles on the map. You can buy all kinds of spreads and truffle-scented olive oil, but my favorite thing to buy is the white truffle butter. Bring some home and make spaghetti with truffle butter sauce and parmigiano—you’ll thank me later.
The best hotels are scattered around the countryside, so when choosing where to stay it’s a good idea to look at Google maps to get a sense of the distances. On our most recent trip, we spent a night at Nordelaia, a sustainable new hotel with a gorgeous design and excellent food, but it’s a bit farther from Alba and Barolo than the other hotels (just over an hour away). If you want to stay within a 30-minute radius of Alba, the best hotels are Relais San Maurizio (a member of Leading Hotels of the World with a Michelin-starred restaurant, an impressive art collection, organic gardens, and a fantastic spa), Casa di Langa (a member of Preferred Hotels’ inaugural Beyond Green collection of sustainable hotels with a gourmet restaurant, organic gardens, and a relaxing spa), Réva Resort (the main draw is a restaurant by Michelin-starred French chef Yannick Alléno), and Palás Cerequio (a sleek resort on a working vineyard).
As for where to eat, you’ll be spoiled for choice. Piedmont is home to an impressive number of Michelin-starred restaurants, but my most memorable meals have been much more humble experiences. When in Piedmont, you should try local dishes like vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce), tajarin (very thin egg-based pasta similar to tagliolini), and bonet (a sort of chocolate pudding made with crumbled amaretti cookies, rum, and sometimes hazelnuts). One of the best places to try these and other local dishes is Osteria dell’Arco in Alba, which adheres to the slow food movement. Marco and I also had a great meal at Osteria dei Sognatori in Alba. And you should definitely stop by one of the local bakeries to try baci di dama, sandwich cookies made with hazelnut cookies joined together by chocolate.
Should you want to visit some wineries, you’ll need to book in advance. Marco and I have visited three of the region’s top wineries, two of which are open to the public. Gaja—run by the children of visionary winemaker Angelo Gaja, who put Piedmont on the map in the 1970s—will open its doors to visitors willing to make a €300 donation to a specially chosen charity. Cantine Damilano—one of the most historic wineries in Piedmont—has a couple of wine shops where you can taste and purchase their wines. On our most recent trip, Marco and I visited their winery and did a tasting at the attached shop in La Morra. The next time we go, I hope to visit Ceretto, which offers tours and tastings for €40-190, and Vietti, which offers tours and tastings for €25-200.
Contemporary art lovers should plan to make a pilgrimage to the Cappella del Barolo, a tiny chapel rising up from the Ceretto vineyards just outside La Morra that’s painted in Crayola-bright hues by Sol LeWitt. The interiors are by English artist David Tremlett, who also painted the exterior of the Chiesetta di Coazzolo with striking geometric patterns. Tremlett did several installations in Piedmont, including one at the Relais San Maurizio.
Further Reading
My most recent trip to Piedmont was spurred by an assignment to write a feature on the region’s sustainable hotels for the fall 2022 issue of Bellissimo, a quarterly e-magazine that goes out to Italy Magazine’s subscribers or can be purchased for $14.99. The issue is dedicated entirely to Piedmont, so if you’re planning a trip there, you might want to check it out.
Here’s a link to the aforementioned article I wrote for Condé Nast Traveller about Piedmont’s unexpected contemporary art scene.
You can learn more about bonet in this article I wrote for AFAR about 8 Italian desserts not to miss while in Italy.
Can’t tell Barolo from Nebbiolo? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. That’s why I wrote this primer on Piedmont’s best wines for Nuvo.
Want a better understanding of Piedmont’s other alcoholic beverage of choice? Check out my field guide to vermouth for Saveur.
Not convinced about Turin? Read my colleague Monica Mendal’s piece for Vogue, which declares it Italy’s most elegant city.
Loved this post! My first trip to Italy was to Piedmont, since my husband’s family came from there. I still think Piazza Vittorio Veneto might be my favourite in all of Italy. Turin is such an elegant city.