- 2 days ago
The final leg of their journey moves north to Piedmont. They visit an abbey along the Via Francigena, an ancient road running from Rome to Canterbury, to reflect with the monks who live there. There are many gastronomic treasures to discover in this region, from the famous rice fields of Vercelli, to the Gianduiotti in Turin, the region's capital. Giorgio chats to the founder of slow food, Carlo Petrini.
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TravelTranscript
00:01I'm Andrew Graham Dixon and I'm an art historian.
00:05I'm Giorgio Locatelli and I'm a chef.
00:08We are both passionate about my homeland, Italy.
00:12The smells, the colour, this is what food is all about for me.
00:17The rich flavours and classic dishes of this land are in my culinary DNA.
00:22And this country's rich layers of art and history have captivated me since childhood.
00:27It's meant to make you feel as if you are being whirled up to heaven.
00:32We're stepping off the tourist track and exploring Italy's northern regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont.
00:40It's part of Italy that's often overlooked but it drives the whole country and I want to show off its
00:46classic dishes.
00:47Not to mention its hidden legacy of artists, designers, intellectuals.
00:52Wow! Look at that!
00:55This week we are in Piedmont, Italy's best-kept secret.
01:00Where people's deep connection with the land has created a very special blend of art, food and popular culture.
01:07A winning recipe for modern life.
01:19Located on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, Piedmont has the most majestic landscapes in Italy.
01:25It was once the gateway to the whole country.
01:28When Hannibal invaded in the third century BC, this was his way in.
01:33With its unspoilt natural beauty it's inspired many artists, not least one of my favourites.
01:39England's greatest painter, Turner.
01:42For me, Piedmont is a food lover's paradise.
01:46There is something delectable here to tickle everyone's palate.
01:51From sweet to savoury and always the finest quality.
01:57And this region is home to one of the most priced delicacies.
02:01It epitomizes the wonderful, healthy food here, the truffle.
02:05But sometimes in Piedmont the best things are the hardest to find.
02:09We are searching for one of these rare fungi with my friend Sandrino in the forest near Asti.
02:15Let's see if we can find a good truffle for breakfast.
02:25The pure air, rich soil and dense fog in this part of southern Piedmont have created the perfect condition for
02:32the best truffle to grow.
02:35Sandrino's won the prestigious Golden Truffle Award ten times.
02:39And if anyone can find one of these prized nuggets, it's him.
02:44You can find the truffle until the shadow of the plant.
02:49Yeah.
02:50It always grows where the shadow of the tree is.
02:53He's never out of the shadow.
02:54It never grows on a sunny place.
02:56Obviously because it's a fungus.
02:58Digo, look at me, come on.
03:00Sure, sure.
03:02Ok, so.
03:05So what's the dog doing at the moment?
03:08At the moment he's scouting.
03:11Aspetta!
03:13Aspetta!
03:14Abbiamo trovato qualcosa.
03:16You can smell the ground.
03:18Credo di sì.
03:19Credo di sì.
03:21Credo di sì.
03:22Bravo, mio.
03:22You can smell truffle in the air.
03:25There you are.
03:26Disappointment because it's small.
03:28Seremo più fortunati.
03:29The next one would be more lucky.
03:32The finest restaurants from all over the world clamor to secure the peak of each year's harvest.
03:39And with truffle going for as much as five thousand pounds a kilo, the business of finding these precious pearls
03:46is taken very seriously.
03:48Go ahead.
03:50Santrino, I'm curious.
03:53How do you say a muset?
03:55Ah, the museruola.
03:57Museruola.
03:58Why does the museruola bring the museruola to the dog?
04:01Because there's a lot of competition.
04:03A lot of unfair competition.
04:05Not honest competition.
04:06And they put a lot of food in vain.
04:10They will put down some...
04:12His competitors will put down poison meat.
04:14Poison meat.
04:15Why?
04:16To kill the dog?
04:17To kill the dog.
04:18And that takes one more person out of there?
04:20It's possible.
04:22Look at it.
04:25Vigo, it's there?
04:27Look at it.
04:27Come on.
04:28Look at it.
04:29There.
04:29There.
04:29There.
04:30There.
04:31There you are.
04:34That's a truffle.
04:35That's a big one.
04:36To you, Honore.
04:38Come on.
04:39You don't want to break any off, I guess.
04:41Piano?
04:41Okay, stop, stop.
04:42Wow!
04:44Wow!
04:46Wow!
04:46That's a...
04:47This is good for breakfast.
04:49Yeah!
04:53This is good.
04:54That's really good.
04:55That...
04:57That is something.
04:59It's very happy.
05:01We're all pleased with you, because we can have breakfast now.
05:12Sandrino, come on.
05:13Give us some truffle.
05:14Five euros, ten euros, fifty.
05:18It's too thick, it's too thick Sandrino.
05:21It's not that we didn't pay it, but...
05:26Wow, I'm just going to have to bite off the edge there.
05:31You rip off the little bit at the end.
05:33Tear off the bit at the end.
05:34You use that as a sort of dipper.
05:37That's right.
05:38That's right.
05:39Wow.
05:42Wow.
05:45Come buono.
05:48It's just the smell of the ground, the smell of what nature smells like, isn't it?
05:54It's all in there.
05:55I think when you've got the wood smoke, it's like you're eating the wood itself.
06:02Wow.
06:04When they say it's a king food, now you know why.
06:13According to Sandrino, the best way to get underneath the skin of Piedmont is to explore it by foot.
06:19And since this is historically a land of pilgrimage, we're following his advice.
06:24We're on an ancient track called the Via Francigena,
06:27a thousand years old.
06:29It once linked Canterbury to the eternal city of Rome.
06:32So, nowadays, I suppose the pilgrimage route that leads to Santa Maria de Compostela is the most famous.
06:39But back in the Middle Ages, the Via Francigena was the most popular pilgrimage route.
06:45Yeah.
06:45From north to south.
06:47Well, they used to believe that each mile that you walked was another day off for your eternal soul from
06:53Purgatory.
06:53You'd get to heaven more quickly.
06:55So, we would be straight in paradise after this.
06:58I was already there.
06:59Each blister.
06:59Each blister.
07:01We're looking for the exit of the pathway, where it opens out to reveal the Souza Valley, just about 30
07:07kilometres from the French border.
07:11So, Andrew, where are we?
07:13You've got them up?
07:14Well, we should be at the bottom of the old donkey path.
07:17Oh.
07:18A Mulatiera.
07:19Which is where there's the...
07:22...pinto di vista panoramica.
07:25Panoramic view.
07:25Not today.
07:27It's wonderful.
07:29Actually, what do you find?
07:29Traveling pilgrims needed places to rest, and the valley is dotted with beautiful monasteries and abbeys.
07:38One of the oldest, a real hidden gem, is the Abbey of Novalesa.
07:43Home to some fascinating art, it's still open to pilgrims today, and still home to a community of monks.
07:50This is Father Daniele.
07:51What does it mean to do the pilgrimage?
07:54It's very important, because it means the path of life.
08:01One who leaves everything, remains alone, walks on the road, encounters imperies, maybe even thieves.
08:09This is completely abandoned to God to go to a sanctuary.
08:13It seems to me that it's a way of purifying yourself of the temptations of life.
08:20To purify yourself, the path that purifies you.
08:22Yes, yes.
08:24And the fact of arriving...
08:26It's purifying because you can only find that road.
08:30You can only find it on the road.
08:32The road is unknown.
08:32The place that you don't know, that's where you can find yourself.
08:35Yes.
08:37Well, we will...
08:38Noi continuamo il nostro viaggio.
08:41Grazie tanto.
08:42Arrivederci.
08:43Arrivederci.
08:44Grazie, grazie.
08:49I've known for years that there are some wonderful 11th century frescoes in the chapels here, but I've never managed
08:55a visit before.
08:56It's not the easiest place to reach.
09:00No, I love it.
09:02It's almost a list of...
09:03Silvestro Luigi came here on the 21st of June, 1857.
09:091857?
09:10Right there.
09:10Somebody called Forla Giussi came in 1960?
09:141923?
09:15I think for a lot of people, writing your name on the wall might almost be a way of saying,
09:19well, I hope my prayers come true.
09:20Okay.
09:21It's like a...
09:21It's almost like a...
09:22It's almost like a way...
09:23This is not just graffiti.
09:25It's almost like praying in the form of graffiti.
09:28Look at this.
09:31How old are these?
09:33Really, really, really old.
09:37This is very unusual to find paintings as old as this in such good condition up in the mountains with
09:44the damp air.
09:46These paintings have a raw, almost primitive energy.
09:49The effect they had on travelling pilgrims can only be imagined.
09:54These frescoes were painted 960 years ago.
10:021070.
10:03Four years after William the Conqueror's invading England, 1066 and all that.
10:08You come in and instantly you're under the eye of Christ.
10:13Christ's Pantocrata.
10:14It's this moment when Italian art and Byzantine art are really one and the same thing.
10:20You know, all the way from Beirut to Dunfermline, Christianity is one thing.
10:25Here we've got Saint Eldrad or Saint Eldred.
10:29Which the story is that he was a very rich person and then he gives everything away.
10:34And that's where he becomes a pilgrim.
10:36Because you see, he's given the stick.
10:38Exactly.
10:38With a stick and the bag.
10:40So you know the story.
10:41Not bad.
10:41It's pretty...
10:43He does really explain himself, doesn't it?
10:45What's nice about this here, also makes it unusual, is that Saint Eldred actually was the head of this monastery.
10:53And he happens to be the patron saint of pilgrimage.
10:57So we have, as it were, pilgrimage to the origin of pilgrimage.
11:02And that's when he becomes a monk.
11:04I love it.
11:05It's sort of such cartoon language.
11:07He drops all his possessions and they place the monk's habit on him.
11:14Don't you think the colours are wonderful?
11:16Wonderful.
11:18Dyes made from the fruit and the vegetables from around here.
11:21There's probably dye made from, I don't know, blackberry juice or blueberry juice.
11:25There'd be dyes made from other vegetable compounds.
11:29It's really simple, made from the earth.
11:32You'd come out of the cold.
11:34The brothers would give you something simple to eat.
11:38And then you come here.
11:39And here you get sustenance for your soul.
11:43Yes, sustenance for your body and for your soul.
11:47Ready to carry on.
11:48Ready to carry on to Rome.
11:54Our modern pilgrimage through Piemont now leads us to a very special location.
12:00It seems to me that everything is connected to purity, spirituality and responsibility here.
12:07And as so often in Italy, that includes the food.
12:10The Piemontese defend the purity of the food chain more than any other people that I can think of.
12:17So it makes sense that this place gave birth to the ethical food movement that's taken the world by storm.
12:25Called Slow Food, it was founded by a good friend of mine.
12:28You're gonna meet these guys and he's called Carlo Petrini.
12:33But everybody calls him Il Carlin.
12:36He's the leader maximum of the movement.
12:38He's the founder of it.
12:40He's a mercurial collector, this guy.
12:42He's just like a volcano of idea.
12:44And it happened here in...
12:46Well, we're just coming into the foothills.
12:48So we're gonna be there soon.
12:50And not something that you think was gonna rock the world when you see it.
13:00Slow Food was founded in 1986 in opposition to the growth of the fast food industry.
13:07It's now a global movement with over 100,000 members.
13:12And it's still rooted in the Piemontese idea of preserving and protecting the tradition of regional food.
13:22We are meeting Carlo at the University of Gastronomic Science outside Bra,
13:27an institute he founded to spread his ideas.
13:32Allora?
13:33Allora.
13:34Tre aggettivi.
13:36Buono, pulito e giusto.
13:38Se manca uno solo di questi, non è buono.
13:43Convincere la gente facendo mangiare queste cose che poi la gente capisce quando...
13:48Assolutamente.
13:50Allora.
13:52Ritornare a livello locale a ricostruire questa memoria, questo patrimonio.
13:59Sì.
14:01Questa è la via.
14:02For example, Bordeaux.
14:05Wonderful wine made with different grapes.
14:07What we're saying is take the same attitude maybe to a tomato or an aubergine.
14:13Maybe the price is less, but we still respect it and we still value it.
14:18The sovereignty of a population is made if it has strong bases.
14:26And the strong bases are in the local economy.
14:30So, to strengthen the local economy.
14:33To take pride in his own story.
14:36He's giving weapons.
14:39No, no, no.
14:43Tranquillo.
14:44Tutti tranquilli.
14:45Questa è una rivoluzione dolce.
14:48He's a sweet revolution.
14:50Chin chin.
14:51Salute.
14:52Chin.
14:52A noi.
14:56I'll see you later.
14:57See you later.
14:59Carlos' philosophy makes perfect sense in a region with such amazing producers.
15:06So, I want to end the day by putting his principles into practice with the traditional menu.
15:12I need some carrots for the marinade.
15:22These root vegetables are crying out for something rich and earthy to go with them.
15:29Buongiorno.
15:30Here in Piemonte, they love their hunting.
15:33So, the butcher always has the best game meat.
15:37I can't think of a better dish to reflect the traditional local cuisine than a stew of capriolo.
15:43Ah, beautiful.
15:46And we're in two.
15:47Perfect.
15:49The capriolo is a mountain deer, so the meat tastes similar to venison.
15:54I'm sure Andrew's going to love it.
15:57Ah, fantastic.
16:00Thank you very much.
16:01Good day.
16:03Good day.
16:05Meanwhile, I get on with the much more serious business of choosing wine for dinner.
16:10The Edmont is home to some of Italy's very greatest wines, including my favourite red,
16:16Barolo.
16:17Good day.
16:18Good day.
16:19Good day.
16:20Good day.
16:22Good day.
16:22Good day.
16:23Good day.
16:24Perfect.
16:26Back at our farmhouse, I set to work on our Piemontese feast.
16:30There is no better way to make a rustic stew than on a real wood fire.
16:36If you want a little bit more power, there we are.
16:40The more air you allow in, the hotter it gets.
16:43The hotter it gets.
16:44Brilliant.
16:45So no dials, no knobs.
16:47Is that like an Italian or Piemontese version of an aga?
16:50That was actually the same stirrup that my grandmother used to have.
16:54Really?
16:58You know, Andrew, this is not the Italian fruit that is famous all over the world.
17:02You know, the kind of the Mediterranean diet, the olive oil.
17:06Here you go, much more subtle flavours.
17:10And you know, and the vegetables have much more root vegetables.
17:13So they sort of attach more to central Europe than southern Italy.
17:18Do you understand?
17:18In a sense, maybe it's the kind of Italian food that has more in common with certain aspects of English
17:23cooking.
17:23The climate's closer.
17:25Definitely.
17:26A bit better than English cooking, that's for sure.
17:28I'm saying nothing.
17:30This is a pretty good food for some pilgrims who've just come down the hill.
17:34Yes.
17:37Okay.
17:37So, Andrew, that's our capriolo.
17:39Smell.
17:40Fantastic.
17:41Wow.
17:41So that's been marinated not in wine, but in vinegar.
17:44In vinegar.
17:44It is not balsamic land.
17:46It is white wine vinegar land.
17:48It's a great smell.
17:50It's very lean meat.
17:55It's a great smell.
18:02It's very lean meat.
18:03What cut of the capriolo does this actually come from?
18:05That would be a back leg, yeah?
18:07It's been up and down the mountain.
18:08That's what it is.
18:09It's really powerful anyway.
18:10I mean, when you see them running.
18:12I've seen them, yeah.
18:13I've seen them when you're walking the mountains.
18:14They're the ones that you think, how on earth did that animal get up there?
18:17They're tough.
18:18And you think, how come it doesn't fall?
18:19It's almost like a cross between a deer and a cat.
18:22It's time to pop the cork.
18:24Barolo is a full-bodied wine.
18:25It needs time to breathe.
18:29Mmm.
18:31Mmm.
18:33I'm glad you approve.
18:34I'm telling you, this is the perfect wine for what we're going to eat.
18:41this is a real farmhouse dinner have you got the plates I'll go and get them that's what I need
18:47I don't think that the farmer would actually serve it to you like that I was going to say
18:53this is you know I'm just doing a little bit of the locatelli twist stuffed onions
18:59celerac mash and a hearty portion of capriolo I have been logging for this all day
19:07Andrew after such a long wait there we are
19:13to get in a chain in Campania bro see what is amazing is that you know it doesn't look like
19:20so attractive like this is the color of much more northern European color of the food it's white
19:28gray but how is it really good is it really good really rich I was trying to think what it
19:39was
19:39you know why is it that the slow movement should have been born in northern Italy and I was thinking
19:47there's various things seem to come together in this part right in the sense that it's always
19:52been a hotbed of of of intellectuals thinkers there's a very strong left-wing tradition in
19:57northern Italy but it's not like communist type left wing but it's it's left wing in the sense of
20:01the small against the big there is a saying in Piemonte contadino contadino scarpe grosse
20:07va cervello fino which means farmer farmer big shoes but fine brain the farmer who thinks
20:20that's a good one thing that makes piedmont so special is it's fertile diverse landscape but
20:33that's not the whole story there's also it's rich cultural history and strong industrial heritage the
20:40best way to uncover this other piedmont is to take our pilgrimage to its greatest city Turin Turin first
20:49flourished in the 16th century when Emanuele Filiberto of the powerful Savoy monarchy made it his capital
20:57and in the 20th century it became one of the most important industrial centers in Italy thanks to Fiat and
21:04the Agnelli family I know the best place to get an overview of the city its most famous landmark the
21:11Mole Antonegliana at 167 meters high is Turin's Eiffel Tower wow look at that what a view I think a
21:32lot of
21:32people think of Turin because of its association with the automotive industry and Fiat and factories
21:37they think of as an industrial city maybe forget that actually at the center there's this wonderful
21:42almost perfectly preserved baroque city it's actually quite French in feeling isn't it absolutely the
21:49old things really works it seems to be almost organized as a series of theatrical displays the
21:56buildings are almost like stage sets long hours yeah powerful city for a king so not that many
22:05churches not that many more outstanding building but less churches than than we usually found in Italy
22:12that's the Palazzo Reale where the Savoy royal family lives and the back of their residence in this
22:18otherwise crowded completely built up baroque town guess what a huge park as if to proclaim the fact
22:26that they rule the roost here you know we can afford just to have a garden as a public part
22:30now it's a
22:31public part the Savoy's were ambitious and wanted a city to reflect their power and wealth almost
22:41everywhere you turn you're greeted by imposing a rock architecture but for my money the most impressive
22:50of all is the Palazzina di Stupfinici it was designed by Filippo Juvarra in 1729 as a hunting
22:59lodge for Duke Victor Amadeus the second of Savoy it's modeled on Versailles isn't it it feels like
23:07that's no coincidence Victor Amadeus was married to Louis the 14th niece and the Savoy's were close
23:13to the French court and says Wedgwood Andrew which would star cabinet it's sort of an index of
23:20everything that was fashionable in the 18th century Juvarra was also a talented stage set designer and
23:29this place has a real sense of theater nowhere more so than the grand central hall wow it looks
23:38like a cathedral well church it is a kind of well it's a profane cathedral it's a profane cathedral
23:45it's a cathedral to the goddess of hunting so you look up you think oh is that the Virgin Mary
23:50no no no
23:52it's Diana it's the triumph of Diana there are bows and arrows and dogs and dead animals and hunters
24:01and huntresses all over this room they weren't great patrons of the arts they weren't great readers they
24:08weren't great patrons of music but they loved their hunting also love the idea then they have like
24:14statue underneath here but then up there they're not they are painting those on ploy also it's all
24:21about plenty isn't it it's all about you know whatever whatever there is we've got plenty of
24:27it and if we haven't got it we'll go and catch some and there's one place where their appetite for
24:35abundance and ownership is strikingly clear it's located in a secret chamber high up above the impressive
24:44cupola isn't it fantastic the smell is absolutely brilliant like tobacco and wooden mmm delicious
25:03who rules we roll it's a statement of power isn't it is indeed look at that so geometrical as well
25:13it must be an explanation why there's this like avenue it's going out like that is it just a show
25:20off piece I think it's like it's that idea of Louis 14th idea of the Sun King the King is
25:26the Sun this
25:27palace is like the Sun it occupies the center of piedmont and its rays symmetrically stretched to every
25:36corner of the land you definitely know who's in charge by the 19th century piedmont under the
25:49Savoies was one of the most powerful Italian States supported by the monarchy and spearheaded by the
25:55prime minister count Camillo Cavour the movement to unify Italy was born right here in Turin
26:05learned and clever Cavour loved to discuss ideas and in the vibrant cafe culture of 19th century Turin
26:11he found the perfect place Fiorio was Cavour favorite cafe almost his office it was so influential it
26:22said the king himself will ask every morning what are they saying in Fiorio the cafe was like an informal
26:29parliament where Cavour and his followers could speak freely I love this noise there you are Andrew we
26:39are in the place there is a picture of the man himself oh grazie what is this this is called
26:47beachery
26:48there is coffee chocolate and cream so very very dietetic drink oh that is delicious Cavour plotted the
27:01campaign to unify Italy right here in Fiorio it was Cavour and the king who were the power behind
27:07Giuseppe Garibaldi's military campaign Garibaldi was like the way we see in Che Guevara now that sort of
27:15freedom fighter they absolutely use his image in order to get that general popular approval you
27:24know because themselves they were pretty ascetic people they didn't have much in common with common
27:29men it's a popular uprising in a sense and that the people greet and they welcome Garibaldi's
27:35conquering armory as it moves south but essentially this is this is a movement that's sponsored by the
27:42king our man Cavour is a monarchist yeah what are the ultimate consequences for for this region for
27:50Piedmont well Piedmont suddenly become the most important region of Italy it collected taxes from
27:57whole Italy and not Rome become the capital but Turing become the capital of Italy or the first capital
28:04item strength some more chocolate to us food for thought the city's caffè culture is still alive
28:16and well I've never seen such an amazing range of pastries and chocolates the Torinesi really do have
28:24a sweet tooth they especially love chocolate here and were once the world's leading producer of the
28:33stuff Ferrero Rocher and Nutella both hail from Piedmont we can't miss a quick visit to one of the best
28:42chocolatier in town the laboratory of Guido Gobino here they specialize in a very Turinese style of
28:51chocolate Il Gianduotto the story goes that the Gianduotto was created during Napoleon's brief rule when
29:00importing cocoa from South America was almost impossible always resourceful the Turinese chocolate
29:07makers decide to concoat the paste from local hazelnets and combine it with the cocoa to make
29:13their supply last longer what might have been a disadvantage was turning to a winning formula we are
29:20having a Gianduotto tasting with Guido himself his family have been chocolate makers for 50 years I
29:28remember this eating this when I was little the nuts and the chocolate go together very well how
29:35would you recommend that one has this with a with an espresso as well in the same time or maybe
29:41or
29:42a Moscato wine because it's very flavor and fruity or barolo chinato or red wine and spicy the red wine
29:52you
29:52think that the Gianduotto success is attached to the fed is based on the Nutella flavor as you say the
29:57grown-up you know you still have the memory of your child the memory that it brings you back to
30:03that we
30:04thanks to Nutella because Nutella is the first flavor that people young young boys taste normally in
30:11the world because you you can find Nutella everywhere so you're still making these these little objects and
30:18you make them all here but you sell them all over the world we export everywhere in a small quantities
30:24of
30:24course because we are artisanal production when I am abroad in Japan for example in Emirates when
30:36people taste Gianduotto they they love it because it's very very interesting tasting and it is not
30:45traditional tasting like bitter chocolate or red chocolate this is very different and this is the
30:51real chocolate or a big because it's made in Torino it is incredible then a place that has such a
30:59tradition where chocolate is part of their you know life and they know the capital of the chocolate
31:06oh they are but they don't kind of show it is a philosophy of a torinese people to work hard
31:14and to make
31:16better as possible everything technology for example chocolate food it's not important to show off
31:25that we are the best they are a bit understated like the English understatement yes and the same is a
31:36good
31:36word for us yes but maybe maybe we should just very quietly say goodbye wish we do good luck
31:42that's a good job that's it that's it that's it and John dedication and hard work really are in the
31:52blood of the Torinese Turin like its neighbor Milan fosters the tradition of a strong work ethic it's what
32:00the city's success is built on and there's one company more than any other responsible for that
32:06success Fiat founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli it flourished in the post-war years when money from
32:14the Marshall Plan kick-started Italy's economic boom Fiat's enormous Lingotto factory became a nucleus for
32:22the city's workers in the 50s and 60s hundreds of thousands of immigrants from southern Italy settled in
32:28the surrounding area to work for Fiat this is the this is the famous Lingotto factory this is the Lingotto
32:34factory
32:34so it reminds me of the Palazzo Stupinigi you know the Savoyar monarch is gone but now we've got the
32:39Fiat family
32:40they're the kings of the new economic miracle and the Diagnelli where the family at the head of of this
32:47corporation of industrialists then really had experience after traveling to America to really pick up this
32:55American dream and giving it to the Italians so it was Fiat in a sense you know the General Motors
33:01of
33:02its day in Italy you know this is the Model T that you know that everyone is going to drive
33:06this car
33:06everyone can afford to drive this car and you know to make something reasonably cheap enough for them to
33:12drive around was part of this and Fiat was right at the heart of them
33:21and my standout favorite of those affordable cars is the Cinquecento cheap and cheerful it's become an icon
33:30thanks to the passion and dedication of specialist mechanics these vintage cars are still on the road today
33:38I've been told in the workshop of Michele and Mauro Miola it's packed full of Cinquecentos in restoration
33:45it's a must for a fan like me
33:50Hello Mauro
33:51Hi, I'm Giorgio
33:54I'm Andrea
33:56And this is your father?
33:57This is my father, yes
33:58Michele?
33:59Michele
33:59Good morning Michele
34:01Good morning
34:01Ah
34:01What does this car mean for you? Is it only a car or is it more?
34:06Is it more than a car?
34:07It's more than a car
34:09We've done everything for the Cinquecentos
34:11If you're from a Catholic family where you know like the mother and the father like keep an eye on
34:15the children
34:16maybe this is the first place that you're actually private
34:18I'm sure that a lot of the kids and they are on their fifties now that were conceived in this
34:24car
34:29Do you remember the first time you gave a kiss to a woman in this car?
34:34The Cinquecentos
34:35The Cinquecentos
34:37On the five hundred and thirty
34:38You can't remember which car
34:44Is it possible to see a car, how do you say?
34:49Finita
34:49Finita
34:50A car that is perfect
34:52Do you have one?
34:53Yes
34:53Can we see it?
34:55Yes, of course
34:55Let's go
34:58Andrew look at this
35:00No way
35:02This is so beautiful
35:06That is something isn't it?
35:09It's a beautiful piece of design isn't it?
35:14Yes, definitely
35:17I can't leave without getting behind the wheel of one of the Miola's precious 500s
35:26Convincer
35:28Convincer
35:31Brakes would be nice as well
35:37You feel like you're driving a piece of history
35:41It's more like you're destroying a piece of history
35:43I don't know
35:43It's a little bit more kind
35:47So you see it's like
35:49The car changed society completely
35:52At every level
35:53Because like I don't know
35:54Like a vet, a doctor, a nurse
35:57You're in a remote village
35:58Suddenly you called and they can come to you now
36:00So it is a part of society
36:04That's I think why the people love us so much
36:07I can imagine perhaps
36:09Someone has come from Sicily to come to the north
36:12What a sensation when they go back to their village
36:15In their brand new Cinquecento
36:18Show them become a modern man
36:22In modern society
36:25I love the sound when you go
36:27You know, when you put a bit of gas on
36:34Andiamo
36:37The economic boom years were also the glory years of a great Italian art movement
36:42Arte povera emerged here in Piedmont in the 60s
36:46As a kind of protest against the rapid industrialization of Italy
36:51The artists of the movement took the ordinary materials of everyday life
36:55And used them to make art
36:58The Museum of Contemporary Art in Rivoli
37:00On the outskirts of Turin
37:02Has an unrivalled collection of Arte povera
37:06A world away from the opulence of the baroque
37:09It's down to earth
37:11Almost homemade
37:13I wonder what Giorgio will make of it
37:17So this is probably the most famous work of Arte povera
37:22Venus of the rags
37:23It's called by Michelangelo Pistoletto
37:28And I think
37:29Being Italian of course he's thinking about the past
37:32Thinking about statues of Venus
37:35But I think what he's saying to us is
37:37How do you represent a person?
37:40How do you represent a human being?
37:43For me the rags could be a portrait of a person
37:48Perhaps through all the clothes they ever wore
37:50All his life
37:51Yeah
37:52That's right
37:52If you imagine like a huge pile of laundry
37:57That's everything you ever wore
37:58Your body was in there
38:00In there
38:01In there
38:01In there
38:02In there
38:02In there
38:03And this is sort of an accumulation
38:04So either you're this permanent ideal figure
38:06Or actually maybe not
38:08Maybe you're more imperfect
38:10You're more ragged
38:12Maybe your life is a process rather than a state
38:18So I want to know what you think of this
38:21It's kind of like a portrait of Italy by another member of the art of proper generation
38:26He's called Luciano Fabro
38:28This is a tombino
38:29This is a portal cover
38:33I like it
38:35Two Italy
38:36One upside down
38:37And then Sicily and Sardinia stuck on it
38:40Funny here in
38:42In years where they made Italy
38:44So it was almost like
38:46The first concept of Italy was born here
38:49And so now to have an artist and does this and turn it upside down and stuck the beat together
38:54I guess it's got to do with that
38:57So again it's it's the ordinary material of working everyday Italian life
39:02The rust as well I like
39:04Yeah
39:05The rust is beautiful isn't it
39:07Look at that
39:09I mean how do you make a portrait of Italy by it's quite a good one
39:17There's a piece here by my favorite Arte Povera artist
39:21Giuseppe Pernone
39:24Unsurprisingly for a piedmontese artist
39:26His work focuses on man's relationship with nature
39:30This room is made entirely of laurel leaves
39:34It's beautifully quiet
39:41Wow that's fantastic
39:46What's that?
39:47Was that a pair of langs?
39:49Yeah
39:50It's a bronze cast of laurel wreaths
39:54It's like you know slow food
39:57I think this is
39:58For me this is slow art
40:00Slow art
40:01You just let it work on you
40:05It's a funny thing
40:08We're indoors and we're in an art gallery but I feel like if I close my eyes I'm almost back
40:12to the
40:12beginning of where we started our trip
40:15See that little sort of chapel on the edge of the valley because it's a room for contemplation
40:20Maybe this is like a modern marcis version of a pilgrimage chapel
40:24And the god is a nature
40:27Absolutely
40:30Also like the idea that that you coming in here and you're breathing in these things and so it stays
40:36in your lungs and you're taking a bit away with you I think it's lovely
40:39So you become part of it
40:40You are part of it
40:41I think that's part of its meaning
40:45I've seen Pannoni's work in museums all over the world but seeing it here confirms just how deep rooted his
40:52connection is to his homeland
40:56And that connection is so totally piemontese
41:00Their commitment to the land has produced one of the most fertile territories in Europe
41:05And the rice fields of Vercelli in the plains north of Turin are the most prized
41:11The locals have worked hard for centuries to cultivate the best condition to produce rice here
41:19And now there are more than 100 varieties grown in this paddy field
41:23The most popular is Carnaroli
41:26For us chefs is the king of risotto rice
41:31Now I want to show you this rice because it's so beautiful come and have a look
41:39Look at this
41:43So this is straight out of the field
41:45This is what I eat in my risotto
41:47Yes
41:47These are the pearl of the barraja
41:50The rice from this rice field
41:53If you came here in the first half of the year this would be like a
41:56Almost like a landscape from China
41:57It would be like a paddy field
41:58This would be more like Chinese paddy field because it would be small paddy fields
42:03And you can see also they are in different levels in order to work with the water
42:06So you have different levels of it
42:08And there's very small tenement all the time
42:11And is this is this a natural microclimate for rice then the cold air and that makes it just just
42:17right
42:17Just perfect and also the perfect beautiful pure water that comes from the mountain
42:22I would imagine that cold air is bad for a crop but for rice it's not bad
42:26It's strengthened it
42:27This area has received the DOP
42:30The Denominazione di origine protetta
42:33So protected or denomination of origins
42:36Because this is being proved that it is
42:40You cannot produce anything equal than there anywhere else
42:44This rice has been crossbreed and made to what it is through years of experience of the people
42:55The exceptional rice grown here has made Vercelli the rice trading capital of Europe
43:02The town's rice market the Borsa Vercelli is the Wall Street of the rice world
43:07And the price set here each week becomes standard across all of Europe
43:13It's a fascinating game of nerve
43:16The floor is packed with millers and brokers haggling over prices
43:22So here you'll have the broker
43:25And the miller will check out the quality of the rice
43:29Look now he's changing the board
43:31And he's going to look here on the white board to see
43:36Oh I see so he's looking for slightly discoloured grains
43:39That's right he says there is a lot of them who's got a little broken one
43:43And there's a lot of them they are a tiny bit grey
43:46So he's saying to him
43:48There's quite a lot of grey ones in here
43:50I can't give you the top dollar because it's not best quality
43:53And he's saying oh well no no come on it's not that bad
43:55That's right
43:56I love these two boards
43:58It's almost like a game of chess
43:59This must have been used for hundreds and hundreds of years the system
44:03The broker giacomo and miller giuseppe are busy haggling
44:07But they seem to be struggling to come to a deal
44:10What price do you want from giuseppe?
44:14Yes, I want 350 euros for tons
44:19Today our magic is around 330
44:23Giacomo looks very interested at this point
44:25So yes, okay so 330
44:26Very important for him
44:28For him is important because he's obviously as the rice there dry ready to go
44:33He wants to get rid of it otherwise he cannot pick up any other
44:36You have nothing at the space
44:37So he knows that so he's going to be a little bit of a tangles there
44:41So can can you help in some way georgia maybe you could be a diplomat
44:45I think that they've been going on like that for the last thousand years
44:48I don't think that they need our help i'm telling you
44:51These hidden sides of piedmont little tales chance meetings
44:56Are showing me a whole new side to a region i've always loved
45:01Back in the 80s when i first visited it was the art that opened my eyes to piedmont's special character
45:09And on that trip one place in particular caught my imagination
45:15The unesco protected heritage site called the sacro monte of varallo an hours drive from vercelli
45:22This extraordinary place of pilgrimage is made up of 45 little chapels each representing a scene from the life of
45:29christ
45:30First constructed in the late 1400s it's evolved and expanded over the centuries
45:36It might not be high art but for me
45:39It's as fundamental as the great masterpieces of the renaissance in creating the culture of this land
45:46There's one chapel in particular i want to show georgia it stayed with me since my first visit here
45:52a gory violent interpretation of the massacre of the innocents
45:56i think you really uh understand what the effect these sculptures were meant to have on people when you when
46:04you look at this one
46:05the appeal is not to the head you know the appeal is to the heart and and this horrible scene
46:11of children being massacred
46:13it's a real it's a real it's hard to look at
46:20i think it makes you feel really sad and
46:23really worried i'm sure you're gonna if you're here with your kids you just grasp him and walk away
46:29i think it takes you to the scene almost too well
46:34the attention to detail is standing down to the sword and really you can see it's entering the body
46:42look at the sufferance of the mother trying to save the baby
46:47screaming you can you can almost hear them screaming yeah
46:52well i think it's there to put
46:54the fear the fear of god into you i mean it's definitely this place i think this whole sacred mountain
47:03is a kind of machine made to to to ingrain faith in the people who came here to really make
47:12them
47:12believe in a very spectacular way yes if you don't pray to god if you don't behave like a good
47:19devout
47:19christian you know maybe these things will happen to you each chapel is like one scene in a in an
47:26unfolding story yes like a modern film almost you're going through you're going to know then it's
47:32going to be the final thing is the resurrection but you still have to go through all the thought and
47:38the pain and everything else the chapel i want to take a look at is the one representing the last
47:45supper
47:48quite a spread it is a quite spread and what is amazing and look they don't have just bread and
47:54and wine like in the bottle but they got all the produce than they are from this area look the
48:01freshwater fish like trouts and things like that got two different type of cheese in there and you
48:06can actually recognize them very well with the one on the right that's a castelmagno and that one
48:11because it's got red skin is castor rosso which are really typical cheeses from this area so they
48:17were eating as well something and the people actually knew yeah yeah yeah so you can actually you
48:21can actually identify the cheeses as being from here and the two different cheese from here
48:27well i think that was the idea i mean because the in the instruction manuals for the artists of the
48:32time it always says make the people feel at home you know make it it shouldn't feel like it's two
48:38thousand years ago in the holy land it should feel as if it's taking place in piedmont and that's
48:42that's what they do have the light to cook this dinner after seeing the various stages of christ's
48:53life we get to the chapel where the story reaches its climax the crucifixion at this moment the maximum
49:01moment of empathy you know where you're supposed to feel christ suffering you're allowed to occupy the
49:08same space as his mother you're allowed to occupy the same space as the disciples looking up you are
49:15really touched by it and you feel like you've seen every scene and he has a little bit of that
49:23sort of feeling of a theme park but for the soul i mean in a sense the modern theme park
49:30is a debased version of this you know disneyland you make the pilgrimage to go there you know the
49:36stories you've seen the films and now you meet the characters you shake hands except all the
49:40spiritual content has been removed and whereas you end your visit to disneyland perhaps with a trip to
49:46the shop here you end your visit by going down into the basement of the church and paying your respects
49:56to the holy image of the madonna
50:04the basement chapel is like a people's museum of faith and devotion a place where they offer
50:09remembrance or give thanks
50:15what i love about is it's like a history of the kind of accidents that could have befallen you in
50:22piedmont
50:22over the centuries here we've got somebody who got attacked by a highwayman that's right here you've
50:29got a terrible rail crash that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and then electricity
50:35to electricity accident to go more recent you remember them few months ago the costa concordia
50:42there must be somebody who was on the costa concordia and he felt in the madonna
50:48yeah that's less it is it's not necessarily that you just came to pray that you would be saved if
50:53you if something happened to you and you had a close shave very close you attributed it to to the
50:57fact that your faith allowed saved you and i suppose it just shows that for many people
51:04you know the church is still the first port of call this is this is from 1807 and what happened
51:11is
51:11is that this alfonso cabara captain of the italian regiment had received two shot and the maria
51:19santissima saved him but isn't that amazing that you've got sort of you've got the napoleonic wars
51:25someone surviving that cheek by jowl with someone surviving a bicycle accident in the 50s
51:31there must be a thousand human stories in here absolutely
51:39our journey through piemont has been so rich and full of variety
51:43i feel we have seen most of the special things this wonderful region has to offer
51:49well all except one we've still not visited any of the great wine producers this region is so famous
51:55for that's because i saved him for last we're going to spend the evening at contrato one of the great
52:03historic wine house of the lange i know the guys who owns the place i'm so excited about it because
52:10you know he's been bought by a friend of mine called giorgio rivetti which is that guy there
52:20it's great thanks for having us it's great yeah thank you thank you for coming here it's a new
52:26place new house new for me something exciting yeah you know me i love to produce barbaresco and barolo
52:33but well my patience is about bubbles too giorgio is one of the best red wine producer in piemont
52:39so it's exciting that he's turning his hand to sparkling wine and we can miss a tour of the cellar
52:47the secret of the success of contrato champagne method wine yeah wow look at that yeah this is
52:56unesco protected this wine cellar were dug out of the old limestone hills of cannelli in the 19th century
53:04ingenious local wine makers discovered the constant temperature of 13 degrees inside
53:09created the perfect condition to ferment the wine naturally giorgio's always got his eye on business
53:17but he hasn't lost sight of the small but important rituals of wine making 30 000 bottles a day are
53:25turned manually here to loosen the sediment inside hello mauro
53:34piacere posso provare don't mess around
53:40una la mano la prima l'altra la quarta ah okay poi si spostano
54:09i think you are back in the kitchen
54:13after turning the bottles the sediment inside must be released so the wine can be laid down to mature
54:21this is the bit i've been waiting for
54:25wow
54:30yeah no way because this wine is in life he has a life inside
54:34look half of the bottle shoot off yeah that was incredible
54:44i'm scared to open it now after what i saw downstairs
54:48oh no worries it's gonna be a shower
54:53smells quite sweet he's got the like that crust bread crust yeah it's typical for spunkly wine
55:01cheers cheers cheers cheers cheers
55:05i can imagine this with some fish oh yeah oysters too oyster
55:11pimont is corner of paradise really you can we have a lot of beautiful grapes
55:16and this beautiful land 99 percent of the top wine producers in pimont they are farmers
55:21this is something this is something special something special they know everything about the
55:25vineyard they are respecting the environment because they do everything organic okay they do beautiful
55:30job in the vineyard they are producing small quantity of fruit it's more quantity of wine but the
55:35wine they are unbelievable and they're probably doing the same thing that their father did and maybe
55:39their father did looking after the land yeah so although you're a large producer you want to keep the
55:44philosophy oh yeah of course yeah of course your own wine no no really a farmer philosophy okay this is
55:51so
55:51important for me i don't want to change this of course here's hoping you never do change it cheers cheers
55:56cheers to us and to piemont
55:58if georgia and his kind stick around there really won't be any space for big multinational
56:05it reminds me of that old piemontese saying farmer farmer big shoes but sharp brains
56:16and the heart of piedmont for me will always be the countryside the original source of everything
56:22that is so magical about this hidden gem of italy our pilgrimage has come full circle see andrew when
56:30i think about piemontese i always really think about people with incredible amount of resilience you know
56:37they really are they fight things over and they turn things over and they made italy they rule it you
56:45know they're the first capital of italy here they have people like carlo petrini coming here and says
56:51listen you got a great amount of value on this land i keep coming back to these leaves sandrino's dog
56:59snuffling among the leaves even the artwork is made of the leaves you know that beautiful piece by
57:05that's right this is real i think this sense of connection to the land is so strong here it seems
57:11to me it feels to me as if the culture popolana is is now is now on the way up
57:17in fact that's what
57:18people come here for now what do you think your favorite experience has been what do you remember
57:24for me the most magic moment is when sandrino dogs got the travel out of the ground it's such a
57:31moment
57:31isn't it to find this pearl that is kind of hidden away it's fantastic and it just puts me you
57:39know
57:39back you know i'm sitting in london trying to sell these things to people and suddenly you know here
57:44i am just picking out the ground it's magic for me that i've been coming back for that experience of
57:49the soil you know for the for the humble pilgrimage church for the terracotta statues of varallo for
57:54the experience of eating the fungi porcini uh the venison that you cooked the truffle of course
58:03and yeah do my life
58:09so where do you think we should go next i think the best place to go now is to go
58:14for lunch man
58:23still to come the best bits of the series devoted to h qi is here on bbc hd next
58:30so
58:46you