All language subtitles for Italy Unpacked 3of3 Land of Many Treasures 720p HDTV

I'm Andrew Graham-Dixon
and I'm an art historian.

I'm Giorgio Locatelli
and I'm a chef.

We are both passionate
about my homeland, Italy.

The smells, the colour,

this is what food is all about
for me.

The rich flavours and classic dishes
of this land are in my culinary DNA.

And this country's rich layers of art

and history have captivated me
since childhood.

It's meant to make you feel as if
you are being whirled up to heaven.

We're stepping off the tourist track
and exploring Italy's Northern
regions

of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy
and Piedmont.

It's part of Italy that's often
overlooked, but it drives

the whole country and I want to
show off its classic dishes.

Not to mention its hidden legacy
of artists, designers, intellectuals.

Wow, look at that!

This week we are in
Piedmont, Italy's best kept secret.

Where people's deep connection
with the land has created

a very special blend of art,
food and popular culture.

A winning recipe for modern life!

Located on the Italian side
of Mont Blanc, Piedmont has the most

majestic landscapes in Italy.

It was once the gateway to
the whole country.

When Hannibal invaded in the 3rd
century BC, this was his way in.

With its unspoilt, natural beauty,
it's inspired many artists,

not least one of my favourites,

England's greatest painter, Turner.

For me,
Piedmont is a food lover's paradise.

There is something delectable here

to tickle everyone's palate,

from sweet to savoury,
and always the finest quality.

And this region is home to
one of the most prized delicacies,

it epitomises the wonderful,
healthy food here - the truffle.

'But sometimes in Piedmont, the best
things are the hardest to find.

'We are searching for one of these
rare fungi with my friend, Sandrino,

'in the forests near Asti.'

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

We'll see if we can find
a good truffle for breakfast.

Vigo, guarda bene.

'The pure air, rich soil

'and dense fog in
this part of southern Piedmont

'have created the perfect conditions
for the best truffle to grow.

'Sandrino's won the prestigious
Golden Truffle award ten times

'and if anyone can find one
of these prized nuggets, it's him!'

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

It always grows where
the shadow of the tree is,

it's never out of the shadow,
it never grows in a sunny place,
obviously because it's a fungus.

So what's the dog doing at
the moment? He's just...

At the moment he's scouting.

You can smell the ground.

Smell the ground.

You can smell truffle in the air.

There you are. He's disappointed
because it's small.

The next one will be more lucky.

'The finest restaurants from all
over the world clamour to secure

'the pick of each year's harvest.

'And with truffle going for as much
as £5.000 a kilo, the business

'of finding these precious pearls
is taken very seriously.'

La museruola.

They will put down some, some...

His competitors will
put down poisoned meat?

Yeah, poisoned meat.

And that takes one more
person out of all... One less.

Has he found another one?

There you are, that's a truffle,
that's a big one.

Help get it out.

You don't want to break any off.

OK, stop, stop.

Wow, like a potato!

Wow, that's a...

This is good for breakfast.

Yeah!

This is good.

That's really good.
That is something.

He's very happy.

We're all pleased with you
'cos we can have breakfast now.

Sandrino, come on,
give us some truffle.

5 euro, 10 euro, 50.

GIORGIO LAUGHS

It's too thick,
it's too thick, Sandrino.

Wow, I'm just going to have to
bite off the edge there.

You rip off the little
bit at the end.

Tear off the bit at the end.
You use that as a sort of dipper?

Yeah, that's right. That's right.

Wow!

Wow!

It's just the smell of the ground,

the smell of what nature
smells like, isn't it?

It's all in there.

I think when you got the wood smoke
it's like you're eating
the wood itself.

Wow.

When they say it's a King's food,
now you know why.

'According to Sandrino,
the best way to get underneath

'the skin of Piedmont is to
explore it by foot.

'And since this is historically
a land of pilgrimage,

'we're following his advice.

'We're on an ancient track called
the Via Francigena.

'1,000 years old, it once linked
Canterbury to the eternal city
of Rome.'

So nowadays I suppose
the pilgrimage route that leads to

Santa Maria de Compostela
is the most famous, but... Hmm.

...back in the Middle Ages... Yeah.

...the Via Francigena was the most
popular pilgrimage route.

Yeah. From north to south.

They used to believe that
each mile that you walked was

another day off for your eternal
soul from purgatory.

So you go to heaven more quickly.

So we would be straight
in paradise after this.

ANDREW LAUGHS

Each blister...

'We're looking for the exit
of the pathway,

'where it opens out to reveal
the Susa Valley,

'just about 30 kilometres
from the French border.'

So, Andrew where are we?
have you got the map?

We should be at the bottom
of the old donkey path.

Oh, La Mulatiera.

Which is where there's the...

Vista panoramica.

A panoramic view.

Not today.

'Travelling pilgrims needed
places to rest,

'and the valley is dotted with
beautiful monasteries and abbeys.'

'One of the oldest, a real hidden
gem, is the Abbey of Novalesa.'

'Home to some fascinating art,
it's still open to pilgrims today

'and still home to a community
of monks. This is Father Daniele.'

So it's almost, seems to me

it's a way of purifying yourself
of the temptations of life.

GIORGIO SPEAKS ITALIAN

Si, si.

You can only find it on the road.

The place that you don't know,
that's where you can find yourself.

Arrivederci.
Arrivederci, grazie, grazie.

Arrivederci.

I've known for years that there are
some wonderful 11th-century frescos

in the chapels here, but
I've never managed a visit before.

It's not the easiest place to reach.

Look, I love it,
it's almost a list of...

"Silvestre Luigi came here
on the 21st June, 1857."

1857!

You've got there, somebody called
Furla Giusi came in 1960, 1923.

For a lot of people,
writing your name on the wall

might almost be a way of saying,
"I hope my prayers come true."

OK. It's almost like a way...
This is not just graffiti,

It's almost like praying
in the form of graffiti.

Look at this!

How old are these?

Really, really, really old.

This is very unusual to find
paintings as old as this

in such good condition

up in the mountains
with the damp air.

'These paintings have a raw,
almost primitive, energy.

'The effect they had on travelling
pilgrims can only be imagined.'

These frescos were
painted 960 years ago.

Phew!

1070, four years after William
the Conqueror was invading England,

1066 and all that.

You come in and instantly
you're under the eye of Christ.

Christ Pantocrator. It's this moment
when Italian art

and Byzantine art are really
one and the same thing.

If, all the way from Beirut
to Dunfermline,

Christianity is one thing.

Here we've got
Saint Eldradus, Saint Eldred.

The story is,
he was a very rich person

and then he gives everything
away and that's when

he becomes a pelegrin
because he gets given the stick...

Exactly.
The wooden stick and the bag.

So you know the story?

No, but it's pretty...

It does really explain itself,
doesn't it?

And what's nice about this here
and also makes it unusual,

is that Saint Eldred actually
was the head of this monastery.

And he happens to be
the patron saint of pilgrimage.

So we have, as it were, a pilgrimage
to the origin of pilgrimage.

And that's when he becomes a monk.

I love this, it sort of such,
it's such cartoon language.

He drops all his
possessions and they

place the monk's habit on him.

Don't you think the colours are
wonderful? Wonderful.

Dyes made from the fruit
and the vegetables from round here.

There's probably dye made from,
I don't know, blackberry juice

or blueberry juice, there'd be dyes
made from other vegetable compounds.

It's really simple,
made from the earth.

You'd come out of the cold,

the brothers would give you
something simple to eat,

and then you come here and here
you get sustenance for your soul.

Yeah, sustenance for your body,
and for your soul,

ready to carry on the travel.
Ready to carry on to Rome.

Our modern pilgrimage through
Piedmont now leads us

to a very special location.

It seems to me that everything is
connected to purity,

spirituality,
and responsibility here.

And as so often in Italy,
that includes the food.

The Piedmontese defend
the purity of the food chain,

more than any other people
that I can think of.

So it makes sense that
this place gives birth to

the ethical food movement
that's taken the world by storm.

Called Slow Food, it was founded by
a good friend of mine.

We're going to meet this guy.

He is called Carlo Petrini,
but everybody calls him Il Carlin.

He's the leader maximum of the
movement, he's the founder of it.

He's a mercurial character, this
guy. He's like a volcano of ideas.

And it happened here in...we're just
coming into the foothills so...

It's happened in Bra, yes.
We'll be there soon.

Not somebody you think is going to
rock the world when you see it. OK.

Slow Food was founded in 1986

in opposition to the growth of
the fast food industry.

It's now a global movement
with over 100,000 members,

and it's still rooted in
the Piedmontese idea of preserving

and protecting
the tradition of regional food.

We're meeting Carlo at the
University Of Gastronomic Science

outside Bra, an institute
he founded to spread his ideas.

Allora. Allora.

For example, Bordeaux, wonderful wine
made from different grapes.

What we're saying is, take the same
attitude maybe to a tomato or

an aubergine,
maybe the price is less,

but we still respect
it and we still value it.

He's giving weapons.

It's a sweet revolution.

Cin-cin. Salute.

Cin!

I'll see you later. See you.

Carlo's philosophy makes perfect
sense in a region

with such amazing producers.

So I want to end the day by putting
his principles into practice

with a traditional menu.

I need some carrots
for the marinade.

These root vegetables are crying
out for something rich

and earthy to go with them.

Buongiorno.

'Here in Piedmont,
they love their hunting.

'So the butcher always has
the best game meats.

'I can't think of a better
dish to reflect

'the traditional local cuisine
than a stew of capriolo.'

Oh, beautiful.

The capriolo is a mountain deer so
the meat tastes similar to venison.

I'm sure Andrew's going to love it.

Ah, fantastic.

Meanwhile, I get on with
the much more serious business

of choosing wine for dinner.

Piedmont is home to some
of Italy's very greatest wines

including my favourite red, Barolo.

Perfecto.

Back at our farmhouse, I set
to work on our Piedmontese feast.

There is no better way
to make a rustic stew

than on a real wood fire!

If we want a little bit more power,
there we are.

The more air you allow in...
The more air I'm letting in...

The hotter it gets.
The hotter it's going to get.

Brilliant. So no dials, no knobs.

Is that like an Italio Piedmontese
version of an Aga?

That was actually the same stove
that my grandmother used to have.

Really?

You know, Andrew, this is not
the Italian food that is just

so famous all over the world,
you know.

The kind of...the
Mediterranean diet, the olive oil.

Here you've got much more subtle
flavours, and you know,

and the vegetables are
much more root vegetables so

they sort of attach more to
central Europe than southern Italy.

Do you understand?

In a sense, maybe it's a kind of
Italian food that has more in common

with certain aspects of English
cooking. The climate's closer.

Definitely, but a bit better than
English cooking, that's for sure.

I'm saying nothing.

It's a pretty good food for some
pilgrims that have just

come down the hill. Yes.

OK, so, Andrew, that's
our capriolo. Smells fantastic.

Wow, so that's been marinated
not in wine, but in vinegar.

In vinegar.

Here is not balsamic land,
this is white wine vinegar land.

It's a great smell.
It's very lean meat.

What cut of the capriolo
does this actually come from?

That would be a back leg, yeah.
It's been up and down the mountain?

That's what it is, a really
powerful animal.

When you see them running...

I've seen them
when you walk in the mountains.

They make you think,

"How on earth did that animal get
up there?" That's it absolutely.

And how come it doesn't fall?

It's almost like a cross
between a deer and a cat.

'It's time to pop the cork.

'Barolo's a full bodied wine,
it needs time to breathe.'

HE MOANS HAPPILY

I'm glad you approve.

I'll tell you, this is the perfect
wine for what we are going to eat.

This is a real farmhouse dinner.
Have you got the plates?

Er, I'll go and get them. That's what
I need, a farmhouse dinner.

I don't think that the farmer would
actually serve it

to you like that.
I was going to say, this is...

But, you know, I'm just doing
a little bit of the Locatelli twist.

Yeah, you are.

'Stuffed onions, celeriac mash
and a hearty portion of capriolo.

'I have been longing for
this all day!'

Andrew, after such a long wait,
there we are.

Dig in.
Una cena en campane proprio.

You see, what is amazing is,
you know, it doesn't look

so attractive like the...you see,
the colours are much more

northern European colour
of the food.

It's white and grey. But how is it?

It's really good. Is it?

Really good, really rich.

I was trying to think what it was,
you know, why is it

the Slow movement should have
been born in northern Italy.

And I was thinking that

various things seem to come
together in this part. Right.

In the sense that it's always been
a hotbed of intellectual thinkers.

There's a very strong left-wing
tradition in northern Italy.

And it's not like Communist
type left-wing, but it's... No.

It's left wing in a sense
of the small against the big.

There is a saying in Piedmont.

Contadino, contadino,
scarpe grosse e cervello fino.

ANDREW CHUCKLES
Which means... I like it.

Farmer, farmer, big shoes
but fine brain.

The farmer who thinks. Hmm.

Which is Piedmontese.

To the Piedmontese farmer.
Piedmontese.

One thing that makes Piedmont
so special

is its fertile, diverse landscape.

But that's not the whole story.

There's also its rich
cultural history

and strong industrial heritage.

The best way to uncover this
other Piedmont

is to take our pilgrimage
to its greatest city, Turin.

Turin first flourished
in the 16th century when

Emanuele Filiberto of the powerful
Savoy monarchy made it his capital.

And in the 20th century, it became
one of the most important

industrial centres in Italy, thanks
to Fiat and the Agnelli family.

I know the best place to get
an overview of the city,

its most famous landmark,
the Mole Antonelliana.

At 167 metres high,
it's Turin's Eiffel Tower.

Wow, look at that! What a view!

I think a lot of people think
of Turin because of its association

with the automotive industry and
Fiat, and factories,

thinking of it as an industrial city.

Maybe you forget that
actually at the centre,

there's this wonderful, almost
perfectly preserved Baroque city.

It's actually quite
French in feeling, isn't it?

Absolutely,
the whole thing really works.

And it seems to me almost organised
as a series of theatrical displays,

the buildings are almost
like stage sets.

Hmm, squares. Long avenues. Yeah.

It's a powerful city for a king,
so not that many churches.

Not that many churches.

More outstanding buildings,
but less churches

than you usually find in Italy.

That's the Palazzo Reale where
the Savoy royal family lives,

and at the back of their residence
in this otherwise crowded,

completely built up
Baroque town, guess what?

A huge park, as if to proclaim the
fact that they rule the roost here.

You know, we can afford
just to have a garden.

And now it's a public park.
Now it's a public park.

The Savoys were ambitious and
wanted a city to reflect

their power and wealth.

Almost everywhere you turn

you're greeted by imposing
Baroque architecture.

But for my money,
the most impressive of all

is the Palazzina di Stupinigi.

'It was designed
by Filippo Juvarra in 1729,

'as a hunting lodge
for Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.'

It's modelled on Versailles, isn't
it? It feels like Versailles.

'And that's no coincidence.

'Victor Amadeus was married
to Louis XIV's niece

'and the Savoys were close
to the French court.'

That looks like Wedgwood, Andrew?
Wedgewood-style cabinet.

It's sort of an index of
everything that was fashionable

in the 18th century.

Juvarra was also a talented
stage set designer

and this place has a real
sense of theatre.

Nowhere more so
than the grand central hall.

Wow, Andrew,
it looks like a cathedral.

Wow. Like a church.

It is a kind of, well,
it's a profane cathedral.

It's a profane cathedral,
I love that.

It's a cathedral to
the goddess of hunting.

You look up and you think,
"Oh, is that the Virgin Mary?

"Oh, no, it's Diana,
it's the triumph of Diana."

Oh, yes. Il triumphe di Diana.

There are bows and arrows
and dogs and dead animals

and hunters and huntresses
all over this room.

They weren't great patrons of
the arts, they weren't great readers,

they weren't great patrons of music,
but they loved their hunting.

Also, I love the idea,
they have statue underneath here,

but then up there they are not,
they are painting. Trompe l'oeil.

It's all about plenty, isn't it?
It's all about abundance.

That's what it looks like.

You know, "Whatever there is,
we've got plenty of it,

"and if we haven't got it,
we'll go and catch some."

And there's one place
where their appetite for abundance

and ownership is strikingly clear.

It's located in a secret chamber,
high up above the impressive cupola.

Isn't it fantastic?

The smell is absolutely brilliant.

It's like tobacco and wood and...

HE INHALES
Mmm, delicious.

"Who rules? We rule."

It's a statement of power, isn't it?

It is indeed. Look at that.
It's so geometrical as well.

There must be an explanation
why there is this, like, avenue

that's going out like that
or is it just a show-off piece?

I think it's like, er,

it's that Louis XIV idea of
the Sun King, the king is the sun.

This palace is like the sun,

it occupies the centre of
Piedmont and its rays...

..symmetrically stretch
to every corner of the land.

You definitely know who's in charge!

You certainly do!

By the 19th century, Piedmont,
under the Savoys,

was one of the most
powerful Italian states.

Supported by the monarchy

and spearheaded by the Prime
Minister, Count Camillo Cavour,

the movement to unify Italy was
born right here in Turin.

Learned and clever, Cavour loved to
discuss ideas, and in the

vibrant cafe culture of 19th-century
Turin, he found the perfect place.

Fiorio was Cavour's favourite cafe,
almost his office.

It was so influential

it's said the King himself
would ask every morning,

"What are they saying in Fiorio?"

The cafe was like an informal
parliament where Cavour

and his followers could
speak freely.

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

I love this noise.

There you are, Andrew,
we are in the place.

There is the picture of
the man himself.

Grazie. What is this?

This is called Bicerin. And it's
coffee, chocolate and cream.

So very, very dietetic drink.

ANDREW LAUGHS

Mmm, oh, that is delicious.

Cavour plotted the campaign to
unify Italy right here in Fiorio.

It was Cavour and the King who were

the power behind Giuseppe
Garibaldi's military campaign.

Garibaldi was like the way
we see Che Guevara now,

that sort of freedom fighter.

They absolutely used his image
in order to get that

general popular approval.

You know, because themselves
they were pretty ascetic people,

they didn't have much in common
with the common man.

It's a popular uprising in a sense
in that the people greet

and they welcome Garibaldi's
conquering army... That's right.

..as it moves south,
but essentially this is,

this is a movement that is
sponsored by the King. Hmm.

Our man Cavour is a monarchist.
Yeah.

What are the ultimate consequences
of this for this region,

for Piedmont?

Piedmont suddenly becomes the most
important region of Italy.

It collected taxes from all Italy.

And Rome didn't become the capital,

but Turin become
the capital of Italy.

Or the first capital of Italy.

Let's drink some more chocolate.
To us. Food for thought.

The city's cafe culture is still
alive and well.

I've never seen such an amazing
range of pastries and chocolates.

The Turinese really
do have a sweet tooth.

They especially love chocolate here,

and were once the world's leading
producer of the stuff.

Ferrero Rocher
and Nutella both hail from Piedmont.

Oh, the smell! Unbelievable.

We can't miss a quick visit to one
of the best chocolatiers in town,

the laboratory of Guido Gobino.

Here, they specialise in a very
Turinese style of chocolate,

il Giandujotto.

The story goes, that
the Giandujotto was created

during Napoleon's brief rule,

when importing cocoa from
South America was almost impossible.

Always resourceful, the Turinese
chocolate makers decide to concoct

a paste from local hazelnuts

and combine it with the cocoa to
make their supply last longer.

What might have been a disadvantage
was turned into a winning formula!

We're having a Giandujotto tasting
with Guido himself.

His family have been chocolate
makers for 50 years.

I remember this,
eating this when I was little.

Bellissimo.

The nuts and the chocolate go
together very well.

How would you recommend
that one has this,

with an espresso as well
at the same time or...?

An espresso maybe or a Moscato wine

because it's very flavoured,
fruity... Fruity.

Or Barolo Chinato or red wine.
A spiced red wine.

You think that the Giandujotto
success is attached to

the fact that it's
based on the Nutella flavouring?

As you say, the grown-up Nutella.

Yeah, no, you still have
the memory of your childhood.

The memory of the...it brings
you back to that.

We thank Nutella because Nutella is
the first flavour that people,

young, young boys taste
normally in the world.

Because you can
find Nutella everywhere.

So you're still making these,
these little objects

and you make them all here, but
you sell them all over the world?

We export everywhere, in small
quantities of course,

because we are
an artisanal production.

When I am abroad in Japan
for example, in Emirates,

when people taste Giandujotto,
they love it because

it's a very, very interesting taste.

And it is not a traditional taste

like bitter chocolate
or rich chocolate... Yes.

This is very different and this is
the real chocolate

because it's made in Turin.

It is incredible, a place
that has such a tradition,

where chocolate is part
of their life,

and they're not the capital
of the chocolate.

Or they are, but
they don't kind of show it.

It's a philosophy of Turinese people

to work hard and to make
everything as good as possible.

Technology for example,
chocolate, food,

it's not important to show off
that we are the best.

They are a bit understated,
like the English.

ANDREW LAUGHS
Understatement, yes. Understatement.

Understatement is
a good word for us. Yeah.

Maybe we should very quietly...
Say goodbye.

..Wish Guido good luck.

Grazie, Guido. Ciao. Grazie. Grazie.

Andiamo.

Dedication and hard work really
are in the blood of the Turinese.

Turin, like its neighbour Milan,

fosters the tradition
of a strong work ethic.

It's what the
city's success is built on.

And there's one company more than any
other responsible for that success.

Fiat.

Founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli,
it flourished in the post-war years,

when money from the Marshall Plan
kick-started Italy's economic boom.

Fiat's enormous Lingotto factory

became a nucleus for
the city's workers.

In the '50s and '60s,
hundreds of thousands of immigrants

from southern Italy settled in the
surrounding area to work for Fiat.

This is the Lingotto...
This is the famous Lingotto factory.

This is the Lingotto factory.

So this reminds me
of the Palazzo Stupinigi,

the Savoy monarch has gone,
but now we've got the Fiat family.

Yeah. They're the kings of
the new economic miracle.

And the familia Agnelli were
the family at the head of

this corporation
of industrialists,

that really had experience,
after travelling to America,

to really pick up this American
dream and give it to the Italians.

So was Fiat, in a sense, the General
Motors of its day in Italy?

You know, this is the model T.
Everyone is going to drive this car.

Everyone can afford to
drive this car.

Definitely, and to make something
reasonably cheap enough

for them to drive around
was part of this.

Fiat was right at the heart of that.

And my stand-out favourite
of those affordable cars

is the Cinquecento.

Cheap and cheerful,
it's become an icon!

Thanks to the passion and dedication
of specialist mechanics,

these vintage cars
are still on the road today.

I have been told the workshop of
Michele and Mauro Miola is packed

full of Cinquecentos in restoration.

It's a must for a fan like me.

Mauro?

Michele? Buongiorno, Michele.

If you're from a Catholic family
where, you know, the mother

and the father keep
an eye on the children,

maybe this is the first place
that you're actually private.

I'm sure that a lot of the kids
that are in their 50s now

were conceived in this car.

THEY ALL LAUGH

THEY ALL LAUGH

He remembers which car!

Andrew, look at this. No way!

This is so beautiful. Oh!

That is something, isn't it?

That's like a showpiece. Bellisimo.

It's a beautiful
piece of design, isn't it?

Yes, definitely.

I can't leave without
getting behind the wheel

of one of the Miolas' precious 500s!

Gently. Yeah, gently.

Convince her, don't, er...
Convince her.

Yeah, have you...?

CAR RUMBLES AND GROANS

Brakes would be nice as well.

You feel like you're driving
a piece of history.

ENGINE RUMBLES

It's more like you're destroying
a piece of history.

ANDREW LAUGHS
You've got to be more kind.

So you see, it's that the car
changed society completely.

At every level. Because,
like, a vet, a doctor, a nurse,

you are in a remote village,

suddenly you call
and they can come to you now.

So it is a part of society.

That, I think, is why
the people love it so much.

I can imagine perhaps someone
who's come from Sicily,

they come to the north. Yeah.

What a sensation

when they go back to their village
in their brand new Cinquecento.

And show off they have become
a modern man in modern society.

ENGINE ROARS

I love the sound when
you put a bit of gas on.

ENGINE ROARS

Andiamo.

The economic boom years
were also the glory years

of a great Italian art movement.

Arte Povera emerged
here in Piedmont in the '60s,

as a kind of protest against the
rapid industrialisation of Italy.

The artists of the movement took
the ordinary materials

of everyday life and
used them to make art.

The Museum Of Contemporary Art
in Rivoli, on the outskirts

of Turin, has an unrivalled
collection of Arte Povera.

A world away from the opulence
of the Baroque,

it's down to earth, almost homemade!

I wonder what Giorgio
will make of it.

So this is probably the most
famous work of Arte Povera.

Venus Of The Rags, it's called.
By Michelangelo Pistoletto.

And I think, being Italian, of course
he's thinking about the past,

thinking about statues of Venus, but
I think what he's saying to us is,

"How do you represent a person,
how do you represent a human being?"

For me, the rags could be
a portrait of a person.

Perhaps through all
the clothes they ever wore.

All his life. Yeah. That's right.

If you imagine like
a huge pile of laundry.

That's everything you ever wore,
your body was in there,

in there, in there, in there,
in there, in there.

And this is a kind of accumulation.

So either you are
this permanent ideal figure

or actually, maybe not.

Maybe you are more imperfect,
you are more ragged.

Maybe your life
is a process rather than a state.

So I want to know what
you think of this.

It's kind of like a portrait
of Italy by another member

of the Arte Povera generation,
he's called Luciano Fabro.

This is a tombino,
this is a pothole cover.

I like it.

It's two Italys. One upside down.

And then Sicily and Sardinia
stuck on it.

It's funny. I mean,
here is where they made Italy,

so it's almost like...

ANDREW LAUGHS

You know, the first
concept of Italy was born here,

and so now to have an artist
do this and turn it upside-down

and stick the bits together,
I guess it's got to do with that.

So again, it's the ordinary material
of working everyday Italian life.

The rust as well I like.

Yeah. The rust is beautiful,
isn't it? Look at that.

I mean, how do you make
a portrait of Italy?

I think it's quite a good one. Hmm.

There's a piece here by my favourite
Arte Povera artist, Giuseppe Penone.

Unsurprisingly for
a Piedmontese artist,

his work focuses on
man's relationship with nature.

This room is made
entirely of laurel leaves.

It's beautifully quiet.

HE INHALES

Wow, that smells fantastic!

What's that?
Is that a pair of lungs?

Yeah. It's a bronze
cast of laurel wreaths.

It's like, you know Slow Food?

I think this is...

For me, this is slow art. Slow art.

You just let it work on you.

It's a funny thing...

We're indoors
and we're in an art gallery,

but I feel if I close my eyes
I'm almost back

to the beginning of where
we started our trip,

that little sort of chapel
on the edge of the valley.

It's a room for contemplation.

Maybe this is like a modern artist's
version of a pilgrimage chapel.

And the God is nature. Absolutely.

I also like the idea
that you come in here

and you're breathing in these things
so it stays in your lungs,

and you're taking a bit away
with you. I think it's lovely.

So you've become part of it.
You are part of it.

I think that's part of its meaning.

I've seen Penone's work in museums
all over the world.

But seeing it here confirms just
how deep-rooted his connection is

to his homeland.

And that connection is
so totally Piedmontese.

Their commitment to the land
has produced one of the most

fertile territories in Europe,
and the rice fields of Vercelli

in the plains north of Turin
are the most prized.

The locals have worked hard
for centuries to cultivate

the best conditions
to produce rice here.

And now there are
more than 100 varieties grown

in these paddy fields -
the most popular is carnoroli.

For our chefs,
it's the king of risotto rice.

I want to show you these guys,
because it's so beautiful,

come and have a look.

Look at this.

So, this is
straight out of the field.

This is what I eat in my risotto?
Yes.

These are the pearls of the Baragge,
the rice from this rice field.

If you came here in the first
half of the year

this would be almost like a landscape
from China, like a paddy field?

These would be more like Chinese
paddy fields,

because they would be small
paddy fields.

You can see also they are in
different levels in order to work

with the water, so you have
different levels of it,

and it's a very small
tenement all the time.

And is this a natural
microclimate for rice, then?

The cold air, that makes it
just right? Just perfect.

And, also, the perfect, beautiful,

pure water that comes
from the mountains.

I would imagine that
cold air's bad for a crop,

but for rice it's not bad, is it?
It strengthens it.

This area has received the DOP,
the Denominazione Origine Protetta,

so protected denomination
of origins,

because this has been proved,
it is...

You cannot produce anything
equal to that anywhere else.

This rice has been crossbred

and made to what it is through
years of experience of the people.

The exceptional rice grown here
has made the Vercelli

the rice trading capital of Europe.

The town's rice market,
the Borsa Vercelli,

is the Wall Street
of the rice world,

and the price set here each week

becomes standard
across all of Europe.

It's a fascinating game of nerve.

The floor is packed with millers
and brokers, haggling over prices.

So, here you'll have the broker,

and the miller will check out
the quality of the rice.

Look, now he's changing the board,

and he's going to look
on the whiteboard to see.

Oh, I see, so he's looking for
slightly discoloured grains?

That's right.

He says there is a lot of them
discoloured, and broken ones,

and there's a lot of them
slightly grey.

So he's saying to him, "There's
quite a lot of grey ones in here,

"I can't give you the top dollar
cos it's not best quality."

And he's saying, "No, no, come on,
it's not that bad." That's right.

I love these two boards.
It's almost like a game of chess.

This must have been used
for hundreds

and hundreds of years, this system.

'The broker, Giacomo, and miller,
Giuseppe, are busy haggling.

'But they seem to be struggling
to come to a deal.'

What price do you want from Giuseppe?

Yes, I want 350 euros per tonne.

Today, our margin is around 330.

Giacomo looks very
interested at this point.

Yes, OK, so 330.
You can barter for me, eh?

For him it's important,

because as the rice there dries
ready to go, he wants to get

rid of it, otherwise he cannot pick
up any others, do you understand?

He knows that, so it's going to be
a little bit of a tug there.

So, can you help in some way,
Giorgio?

Maybe you could be a diplomat.

I think that they've been going on
like that for the last 1,000 years,

I don't think they need our help,
I'm telling you.

These hidden sides of Piedmont,
little tales, chance meetings,

are showing me a whole new side
to a region I've always loved.

Back in the '80s,
when I first visited,

it was the art that opened my eyes
to Piedmont's special character.

And, on that trip, one place
in particular caught my imagination.

The UNESCO protected heritage site
called the Sacro Monte di Varallo,

an hour's drive from Vercelli.

This extraordinary place
of pilgrimage is made up

of 45 little chapels,
each representing a scene

from the life of Christ.

First constructed in the late 1400s,

it's evolved and expanded
over the centuries.

It might not be high art,
but for me, it's as fundamental

as the great masterpieces
of the Renaissance

in creating the culture of this land.

There's one chapel in particular
I want to show Giorgio.

It's stayed with me
since my first visit here -

a gory, violent interpretation
of the Massacre of the Innocents.

I think you really understand
what the effect these sculptures

were meant to have on people
when you look at this one.

The appeal is not to the head,
the appeal is to the heart,

and this horrible scene of
children being massacred.

It is a real...

It's a real...
It's hard to look at.

I think it makes you feel
really sad, and really worried.

I'm sure if you were here
with your kids,

you'd just grasp them and walk away.

I think it takes you to the scene
almost too well.

The attention to detail is stunning,
down to the sword,

and really you can see it
entering the body.

Look at the sufferance of the
mother trying to save the baby.

Screaming, you can almost
hear them screaming.

Well, I think it's there to put...

The fear.
..the fear of God into you.

I mean, it's definitely, this place,
this whole sacred mountain...

..is a kind of machine,

made to ingrain faith in the people
who came here,

to really make them believe.
In a very spectacular way.

Yes, if you don't pray to God,
if you don't behave like a good,

devout Christian, you know, maybe
these things will happen to you.

Each chapel is like one
scene in an unfolding story.

Yes, like a modern film, almost.

You're going through, you've got
to know there is going to be

the final thing, the resurrection,

but you still have to go
through all the thought

and the pain and everything else.

The chapel I want to take a look at

is the one representing
the Last Supper.

Quite a spread.
It is quite a spread.

And what is amazing, look,
they don't have just bread and wine,

like in the Bible, but they've
got all the produce from this area.

Look, there's freshwater fish,
like trout and things like that.

You've got two different types
of cheese in there, and you can

actually recognise them very well,
because the one on the right,

that's a castelmagno, and that one,
because it's got a red skin,

is castelrosso, which are really
typical cheeses from this area.

So they were eating, as well,

something that the people
actually knew.

Yeah, yeah, so you can
actually identify the cheeses

as being from here? The two
different cheeses, from here.

Well, I think that was the idea,

because in the instruction manuals
for the artists of the time,

it always says,
"Make the people feel at home."

You know, it shouldn't feel like it
is 2,000 years ago in the Holy Land,

it should feel as if
it's taking place in Piedmont,

and that's what they have done.

I would have liked
to cook this dinner.

After seeing the various
stages of Christ's life,

we get to the chapel where the story
reaches its climax - the Crucifixion.

At this moment,
the maximum moment of empathy,

where you're supposed to feel
Christ's suffering,

you're allowed to occupy
the same space as his mother,

you're allowed to occupy the same
space as the Disciples looking up.

You are really touched by it.

You feel like
you've seen every scene,

and it has a little bit of that
sort of feeling of a theme park...

but for the soul.

Well, in a sense, the modern theme
park is a debased version of this.

You know, Disneyland - you make
the pilgrimage to go there,

you know the stories,
you've seen the films,

and now you meet the characters,
you shake hands.

Except all the spiritual content
has been removed,

and whereas you end your visit
to Disneyland, perhaps,

with a trip to the shop, here...

you end your visit by going
down into the basement of the church

and paying your respects to
the holy image of the Madonna.

The basement chapel
is like a people's museum

of faith and devotion,

a place where they offer remembrance,
or give thanks.

What I love about it is, it's like
a history of the kind of accidents

that could have befallen you
in Piedmont over the centuries.

Here we've got somebody who got
attacked by a highwayman.

That's right.

Here you've got
a terrible rail crash that

occurred at the beginning of the 20th
century, and then... To electricity.

To electricity, accident.

To go more recent,

you remember, a few months ago,
the Costa Concordia?

There must be somebody who
was on the Costa Concordia,

and he felt that the Madonna
blessed him. That's right.

It's not necessarily that you just
came to pray that you would be saved.

If something happened to you
and you had a close shave...

Very close shave.
..then you attributed to...

..to the fact that your faith
allowed... ..saved you.

I suppose it just shows
that, for many people,

the church is still
the first port of call.

This is from 1807.

and what happened is this
Alfonso Cabora,

captain of the Italian Regiment,

had received two shots, and
the Maria Santissima saved him.

Isn't that amazing?

That you've got the Napoleonic
Wars, someone surviving that,

cheek by jowl with someone surviving
a bicycle accident in the '50s.

Grazia Ricevuta.

There must be 1,000 human stories
in here. Absolutely.

Our journey through Piedmont has
been so rich and full of variety.

I feel we have seen
most of the special things

this wonderful region has to offer.

Well, all except one.

We've still not visited
any of the great wine producers

this region is so famous for.

That's because I saved it for last.

We are going to spend
the evening at Contratto,

one of the great historic
wine houses of the Langhe.

I know the guy who owns the place.

I am so excited about it,
because it has been

bought by a friend of mine,
called Giorgio Rivetti.

Which is that guy there.
Giorgio!

Come stai? Benissimo, Giorgio.
Fantastico.

Nice to see you. Hey, Andrew.
Thanks for having us.

A pleasure. Thank you,
thank you for coming here.

This is a new place, new house!

Yes, something new for me,
something exciting.

You know me. I love to produce
Barbaresco and Barolo,

but my passion
is about bubbles, too.

'Giorgio is one of the best
wine producers in Piedmont,

'so it's exciting he's turning
his hand to sparkling wine.'

'And we can't miss
a tour of the cellar,

'the secret of the success of the
Contratto champagne method wine.'

Wow! This is a cathedral!

UNESCO protected, these wine
cellars where dug out of the old

limestone hills of Canelli
in the 19th century.

Ingenious local winemakers
discovered the constant temperature

of 13 degrees inside
created the perfect conditions

to ferment the wine naturally.

Giorgio's always got
his eye on business,

but he hasn't lost sight
of the small, but important,

rituals of winemaking.

30,000 bottles a day
are turned manually here

to loosen the sediment inside.

Hello, Mario.

Do you mind?

Don't mess around, Andrew.

Andrew, like that.
OK, go on, Giorgio.

Eh, no. No?

I missed the one in the middle?

I think you are better
in the kitchen!

'After turning the bottles,'

the sediment inside must be released

so the wine can be
laid down to mature.

This is the bit
I've been waiting for.

Wow!

That is brilliant! No way!

Because this wine is in life,
it has life inside.

Look, half of the bottle
shot off. Yeah.

That was incredible! Giorgio, man!

I'm scared to open it now,
after what I saw downstairs!

Don't worry.
It's going to be a shower.

CORK POPPING

It smells quite sweet.

It's got the...
Like a crust, bread crust.

Yes, typical for sparkling wine.

Salute. Salute. Cheers.

I can imagine this with some fish.
Oh, yes. Oysters, too. Oysters!

Piedmont is a corner of paradise,
really.

We have a lot of beautiful grapes,
and this beautiful land.

99% of the top wine producers
in Piedmont are farmers.

This is something special.

They know everything
about a vineyard,

they respect the environment because
they do everything organic, OK?

They do a beautiful job
in the vineyard

and are purchasing a small quantity
of fruit, small quantity of wine,

but the wines are unbelievable.

And they're probably doing
the same thing that their father did,

and maybe THEIR father did.
Looking after the land. Yeah.

So, although
you're a large producer,

you want to keep the philosophy of
the small producer. Yes, of course.

No, really, the farming philosophy,
this is important for me.

I don't want to change this,
of course.

Here's hoping you never do change it.
Cheers. Cheers.

To us and to Piedmont.
Piedmont.

If Giorgio and his kind
stick around,

there really won't be any space
for a big multinational here.

He reminds me of the old
Piedmontese saying -

farmer, farmer -
big shoes but sharp brains.

And the heart of Piedmont for me
will always be the countryside,

the original source of everything
that is so magical

about this hidden gem of Italy.

Our pilgrimage has come full circle.

You see, Andrew,
when I think about Piedmontese,

I always think about people

with an incredible amount
of resilience, you know.

They really are...

They fight things over and they turn
things over, and they made it,

they rule it,
the first capital of Italy.

Here they have people like
Carlo Petrini, coming in and saying,

"Listen, you've got a great
amount of value on this land."

I keep coming back to these leaves.

Sandrino's dog,
snuffling among the leaves.

Even the artwork is
made of the leaves! That's right!

That beautiful piece by Penone.
There's this real...

I think this sense of connection
to the land so strong here.

It seems to me, it feels to me,

as if the cultura populara
is now on the way up.

In fact, that's what
people come here for now.

What do you think your favourite
experience has been?

What do you remember?

For me, the most magic moment

was when Sandrino's dogs got
the truffle out of the ground.

It's such a moment, isn't it,
to find this pearl hidden away?

It's fantastic,
and it just puts me back, you know,

I'm sitting in London trying
to sell these things to people,

and suddenly here I am,
just picking it out of the ground.

It's magic for me, that.

I'll be coming back for that
experience of the soil,

for the humble pilgrimage church,
the terracotta statues at Varallo,

for the experience of
eating funghi porcini,

and the venison that you cooked.

The truffle. Of course.

Andiamo. Va va.

So, where do you think
we should go next?

I think the best place to go now
is for lunch, man.

HE LAUGHS

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd