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Part One: Food in North Italy

Not only is the northwest Italy's fashion capital, it also boasts the nations finest wines, truffles, mushrooms, and game

T sauce and pizza will hardly recognize northwestern Italy as being Italian at all. This area—comprising the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, and Valle d'Aosta—nestles in the Alps bordering Switzerland and France, and its cuisine might be confused with that of its rumblings. In fact, the North is somewhat aloof from the rest of Italy and every few years there are rumblings about it seceding from the poorer south though no one takes this seriously.

North Italy will also surprise the traveler who thinks of Italians as laid-back and relaxed, who imagines them taxing long afternoon naps after leisurely lunches. Piedmont is the home of several enormous corporations—including Fiat, Italy's largest car manufacturer, responsible for 37 percent of the country's gross national product—and offers a luxurious sophistication perhaps more often associated with France than with Italy. Turin, in particular, and Piedmont are generally known for lush, gilded cafes, artistic pastries and chocolates, and truffles—one of the world's most expensive foods. Nevertheless, the region is still surprisingly agricultural, and also produces Italy's finest wines, as well as several kinds of nuts and the usual rich Italian array of produce.

Lombardy, with its capital, Milan, is Italy's fashion, business, and banking center. Although the countryside of Lombardy is still heavily agricultural, the region boasts a cuisine that can hardly be considered rustic, even in the most rural areas, dependent as it is on butter, cream, rice, and cheese. Lombardy's is a culinary tradition rich not only in history, but also in calories. It is also a highly-varied tradition, with each town offering its own particular specialty.

Valle d'Aosta is often overlooked in studies of Italy because of its minuscule size, but to do so is a mistake. Landlocked Valle d'Aosta is home to several famous peaks—Mont Blanc, Mount Rosa, the Matterhorn, and the Gran Paradiso (which at 13,324 feet is the centerpiece of Italy's largest national park)—but few people. With 115,000 inhabitants, it is the least populous of Italy's regions. Valle d'Aosta has no large cities; its capital, Aosta, has only about 37,000 inhabitants. The food is hearty and surprising. Ingredients like cabbage, cheese, and the local dark rye bread sustain the region's inhabitants over long Alpine winters. As in all of northwestern Italy, there is no sign of tomato sauce anywhere here—just inventive food made with high-quality ingredients. Ultimately, that is what makes food Italian.

Together, Piedmont and Lombardy produce the most amount of wine in Italy.