Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Local Specialities
The Italian term for 'pride of place' is
campanilismo,
but a more accurate word would be
formaggismo:
loyalty to the local cheese. Clashes among medieval city-states involving
castle sieges and boiling oil have been replaced by competition in producing speciality
foods and wines.
Piedmont
Birthplace of the Slow Food Movement. Guzzle Lavazza coffee and vermouth in Turin,
also famed for its chocolate and nougat, buzzing
aperitivo
(predinner drinks with snacks)
scene and Slow Food emporium Eataly. Alba treats taste buds to white truffles, hazelnuts,
and pedigreed Barolo and Barbaresco reds. Hazelnuts and cocoa merge together in
Cherasco, known for its chocolates, Baci di Cherasco (Cherasco Kisses), not to mention its
lauded
lumache
(snails).
Lombardy
Lombardy is all about
burro
(butter), risotto and gorgonzola cheese. Milan delivers
risotto
alla milanese
(saffron and bone-marrow risotto),
panettone
(a yeast-risen sweet bread),
uberfashionable restaurants and food emporium Peck. Renaissance Mantua remains ad-
dicted to spiced pumpkin tortelli, wild fowl and
sbrisolona
(a delicious cornmeal cake with
almonds, lemon and vanilla). The Valtenesi area is home to some of Italy's finest emerging
olive oils, including Comincioli's award-winning Numero Uno.
