![]() Farmers, cooks and other rice-based craftĪfter Lucedio we drove into Vercelli that promotes itself as the capital of rice. The atomic reactors in the distance stand as a memorial over Italy’s nuclear power programme that was closed down completely in 1990. And from the octagonal bell-tower there is a beautiful view of the surrounding fields and granges. ![]() But that is an all together different story. The Abbey was secularized in 1784 after strong rumours of black magic, and there are those who claim that the place is still haunted. After about 10 kilometers we reached Lucedio Abbey, where Benedictine monks in the fifteenth century introduced the cultivation of rice to Piedmont in order to combat famine and plague. ![]() Today huge machinery has taken over the hard manual labour, so apart from a couple of farmers and an old man on a bicycle we had the area to ourselves. The origin of rice cultivation in Piedmontįifty years ago, the fields were cultivated by lines of young girls standing bent over in water all day to sow the plants, as seen in the neo-realistic film ‘Riso Amaro’. Lucedio Abbey top right, and one of the Abbey’s original granges. The flooding ensures a steady water supply for the plants and – more importantly – provides thermal insulation to smooth out differences in temperature between night and day. A slow decline in the land over several hundred kilometers means that the flooding of the fields can be controlled and regulated through an ingenious system of irrigation ditches, canals and tiny dikes. We started the tour in Trino and drove out among the fields on rented bicycles. ![]() salads – and the red Riso Ermes – that work great as a base for salmon. Along with tasty whole grain varieties such as the black Riso Venere -used in eg. This is where the round and short-gained Carnaroli and Arborio rice for Italian risotto are produced. From Biella to Pavia, vast stretches of land had been flooded by the fast flowing Sesia River, creating a huge patchwork of square, sky-reflecting ponds. We followed the rice route and discovered new waterscapes in landlocked Piedmont.Īlready when the plane started to descend over the Alps we could see the rice fields. Paddy fields are normally associated with Southeast Asia, but you can also travel among rice fields in Italy. ![]()
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