Cheese
The Piemonte region is able to boast of an age-old tradition in the art of cheese-making – several products even trace their origins back to the Middle Ages, linked to the Carolingian myth. The word “formaggio” (cheese) itself comes from the medieval Latin “formaius” with its reference to “form”, basically dealing with milk that is kept in a form.
Today, there are hundreds of Piemonte cheeses which can be enjoyed, even though many of them are similar: there are infinite nuances in robiole, for example, with the characteristics of each town, of “bross”, and of tome. Nine of these cheeses have received DOP (protected designation of origin) certification and they are Bra, Castelmagno, Gorgonzola, Grana Padana, Murazzano, Raschera, Robiola di Roccaverano, Taleggio, and Toma Piemontese. Among these, Castelmagno is one of the oldest cheeses in Italy, given that the first documented news of the cheese dates back to the 13th century – it is a document of a legal decision reached in which a form of cheese was considered a unit of exchange established at twelve denari (unit of currency). Heading toward modern times, we recall that in 1722, Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy fixed, for the town of Castelmagno, the duty of furnishing the revenue of 66 lire (pounds) and 10 soldi (schillings) annually and the gift of nine rubbi (7,968 kg) of cheese to the feudal land owner.
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Places
Forte di Fenestrelle
The largest fortified structure in Europe and the longest wall-structure in the world after the Great Wall of China: a 635-meter inclination, 3 km long, 1,300,000 square meters large, 4,000 steps in the Scala Coperta (Covered Staircase), 2,500 steps in the Scala Reale (Royal Staircase), 5 drawbridges, and 183 lights to illuminate the interior.
Filatoio Rosso di Caraglio
The Filatoio (Spinning Mill), built between 1676 and 1678, is an extraordinary example of 17th century Piemonte “industrial architecture”. Today, completely restored, it houses the Museo Regionale della Seta (Regional Silk Museum), as well as contemporary art shows.
Historical Wine Cellars in Canelli
The wine cellars – which hold ancient barrels perfectly lined-up – have brick arches, lowered large round arches connected to each other by tunnels that reach into the layers and strata of earth which have formed over the centuries.
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People
Giuliano Montaldo
“I shot my first film Tiro al piccione in Piemonte in 1960 on Lago Maggiore. Today, for the filming of I Demoni di San Pietroburgo, I wanted to return to the scene of the crime…it’s an historic film that transfers great literature to the plains of Piemonte among the Palazzi and Sabaude residences of Torino”.
Carolina Kostner
"The people of Piemonte are rather similar to the people of Alto Adige. That’s probably because the mountains are two steps away…but, in Torino, which is a big city, there isn’t the same atmosphere as there is in my part of the country. Here, there’s everything. Discovering its most interesting sides will be a true pleasure…"
Gerard Roero Di Cortanze
“There must be a psychoanalytic bond between Torino, Piemonte and myself. Every time I come to town, I feel at home, as if the doors to my own house were being re-opened. I have never lived in this city. Every time I’m here it is as if I put my foot on the fog of a ghost, face to face with my past. Torino is my imaginary life, a double retrospect, a flashback…”
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