Piedmont Food Travel: Turin, Alba

With the Alps on three sides and some of the highest peaks and largest glaciers in all of Italy, the Piedmont region, or Piemonte, is in Italy's northwest corner, sharing borders with France and Switzerland.

The region has numerous lakes with the massive expanse of Lake Maggiore being the most famous and is popular for downhill and cross-country skiing, rock climbing, ice skating and other winter activities that require snow and ice.

Turin is the region’s main city. Home to the champion Juventus Football Club and Fiat automobiles, the metropolis of Turin features historic Baroque architecture, excellent museums and of course the Shroud of Turin, believed by the faithful to have the image of the face of Jesus Christ imprinted on the material.

For foodies, there’s an important reason to come every year — the Alba White Truffle festival. Piemonte is known for its excellent wines and delicious truffles, the most precious and rare being the white truffle, which sells for hundreds of dollars per pound.

But near and dear to our hearts, the region holds the distinction of being the birthplace of the Slow Food movement, which encourages local producers to farm the traditional plants and livestock that are distinctive to a region’s cuisine.

When it comes to food and wine, great regional cheeses like gorgonzola match well with the wines of the region, the most well known of which are Barolo and Barbaresco.

If you love fondue, this region should be on your list especially when white truffles are on the menu. A cousin of fondue, bagna cauda is a regional specialty made in Piedmont with lots of garlic, olive oil, butter and fresh anchovy fillets, and eaten hot with bread and raw veggies for dipping.

What to Eat in Piedmont

Restaurants in Piedmont