{"id":4842,"date":"2016-07-12T01:52:46","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T05:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=4842"},"modified":"2021-01-14T09:58:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T14:58:11","slug":"piedmont-gastronomy-history-and-beautiful-landscapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/piedmont-gastronomy-history-and-beautiful-landscapes\/","title":{"rendered":"Piedmont: Gastronomy, History and Beautiful Landscapes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Piedmont: Gastronomy, History and Beautiful Landscapes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve always had a fascination with the northwestern Italian region of Piedmont, with its perfect combination of gastronomy, history and beautiful scenery. In fact, the name Piedmont is derived from Latin loosely translated to the foot of the mountains,<\/em> as its bordered by the snow-covered Alps to the west towards France and to the north towards Switzerland.<\/p>\n

During the late spring, I was fortunate to cycle 160km over three days, starting from the rice-growing plains near the Po river passing through the historic cities of Alessandria, Acqui Terme, Canelli, Alba and ultimately Asti. \u00a0Some of the climbs were extremely challenging but I was rewarded with idyllic views of the UNESCO World Heritage Langhe-Roero & Monferrato wine regions.<\/p>\n

On a separate occasion I explored the Piedmontese capital, Turin, with its wide pedestrianized, boutique cafes and rich gastronomy.<\/p>\n

\"Piedmont1\"<\/p>\n

The route took me through the heart of Piedmont<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont2\"<\/p>\n

Vast fields of wheat and rice near Voghere on the Lombardy side<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont3\"<\/p>\n

Close to Spinetta Marengo, where in 1800 Napoleon won a famous battle against the Austrians<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont4\"<\/p>\n

Acqui Terme, a quaint spa town 35 km south west of Alessandria. The little pavilion in the town centre is known as La Bollente, for the spot where the waters bubble up at 75 \u00b0C<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont5\"<\/p>\n

First century A.D Roman aqueduct in Acqui Terme<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont6\"<\/p>\n

I stayed in a comfortable and affordable Agriturismo (b&b) near Acqui Terme. Private message me for details<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont7\"<\/p>\n

Tough climbs and splendid views<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont8\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Canelli is believed to be the birthplace of the Italian<\/a>\u00a0sparkling wine<\/a>\u00a0Asti<\/a>. The village’s history of the wine is still evident today with the popular\u00a0synonym<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Muscat Canelli<\/a>\u00a0that is still used for the Moscato grape used to produce the wine. There is a beautiful villa overlooking at the top of the hill.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont9\"<\/p>\n

Tired and thirsty, I wonder what I should drink…<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont10\"<\/p>\n

\"Piedmont11\"<\/p>\n

Before dinner I managed to catch the last rays of the day overlooking the barbaresco vineyards<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Piedmont12\"<\/em><\/p>\n

Local specialty. Ravioli stuffed with meat and covered in barolo sauce!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont13\"<\/p>\n

Next day, onto Alba which is known mainly for two things…<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont14\"<\/p>\n

1.White truffles<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Piedmont15\"<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Nutella factory! The hills around Alba are abundant with hazelnuts.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Piedmont16\"<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    More dolce from the region, some of these appear quite similar to French desserts which isn\u2019t a coincidence considering that the region has historically had a strong French cultural influence<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    Turin<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Turin, with its elegant squares and palaces, is the first capital of unified Italy when the kingdom of Italy was unified in 1861. The city, is often mistakenly overlooked for more popular destinations such as Rome, Florence and Venice which I rather enjoy since it retains its authentic character. In particular, the city offers a unique and relaxing vibe with its boutique cafes, world-class museums such as the Egyptian museum & Galleria Sabauda and diverse & distinct cuisine.<\/p>\n

    \"Piedmont17\"<\/p>\n

    From Cappuccino Hill, this panorama highlights Turin\u2019s renaissance, baroque, rococo, neo-classical, and art nouveau architecture. One distinct feature is the Mole Antonelliana completed in 1889<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"Piedmont18\"<\/p>\n

    Royal Palace of the House of Savoy \u2013 UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"Piedmont19\"<\/p>\n

    Arcaded shopping gallery, in fact Turin has 15km of arcades!<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"Piedmont20\"<\/p>\n

    The Roman Palatine Towers. During the Roman period,\u00a0Augusta Taurinorum as Turin was known,\u00a0became an important strategic military centre, as well as a centre for commerce with the neighbouring regions. Here is a statue of Octavian (the future emperor Cesar Augustus)<\/p>\n

    Enjoy this podcast from The Expat Money Show<\/a> – JohnnyFD<\/a> who talks about moving from the USA and living in Bali and Thailand.<\/p>\n

    About the author:<\/p>\n

    Alexandre is a semi-professional photographer and keen long-distance cyclist. He can be reached at arotenberg.photography@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0and his website is\u00a0www.arotenberg.photoshelter.com<\/p>\n

    Here is<\/b> probably the most extensive ebook on <\/b>Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Eliminating Your Taxes, Protecting Your Assets And Regaining Privacy Over Your Life And Investments<\/i><\/b>. It is called<\/b> The<\/b> Ultimate Guide To Going Offshore<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

    I hope you enjoyed reading this article: Piedmont: Gastronomy, History and Beautiful Landscapes. If you have any questions, please contact<\/b> our office HERE<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

    I’ve included some great articles for you to read, enjoy!<\/b><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Piedmont: Gastronomy, History and Beautiful Landscapes I\u2019ve always had a fascination with the northwestern Italian region of Piedmont, with its perfect combination of gastronomy, history and beautiful scenery. In fact, the name Piedmont is derived from Latin loosely translated to the foot of the mountains, as its bordered by the snow-covered Alps to the west […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":30804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[213,14085,14086],"yst_prominent_words":[14046,14043,14044,14049,14052,2199,14048,2356,14047,14045,7829,7821,6262,7830],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/italy-1785758_1280.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4842"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43970,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4842\/revisions\/43970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4842"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}