Everywhere you look, you’ll find fassona beef cows grazing, dairy cows for cheese, truffles hidden in the forest, orchards of pears and cherries, and vast valleys of wine and hazelnuts. There’s also significant corn production, which has earned the Piemontese people the nickname polentoni (big polenta eaters). Polenta, a coarse cornmeal, is a dish born out of poverty. Every year, at the start of winter, local Alpini (people who carry on the traditions of WWII freedom fighters who fought the Nazis in Italy—those folks with the funny green hats!) organize an event where people gather to eat polenta, embracing the start of the cold, dark season together and fostering a sense of community through food. Now, many of these traditional products are recognized for their artisanal value and amazing taste. Fun fact: Nutella is based on a traditional chocolate hazelnut cream from here called gianduja!
Warmer average temperatures in the region have allowed more grapes to grow in a more prolific manner. This means that there has been a lot of land speculation in the area. Land speculation is when land is bought when it is inexpensive and artifically inflated because of its anticipated use for something or someone else. In this region, large swaths of land not traditionally used for winemaking (wine is best grown on the slopes of hills that receive lots of sun and could not be otherwise used for vegetable production or grazing animals) are being bought up by people who have no interest in its agricultural importance. Once bought, they hire other people to work the land or sell it to farmers at a severely increased cost.
