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02x02 - Piedmont

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy". Aired: February 14, 2021 – October 30, 2022.*
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The series follows American actor Stanley Tucci, who travels around Italy visiting each region and exploring their cultures, cuisine, and history.

02x02 - Piedmont

Post by bunniefuu »

- If you strap on
your skis in the Alps

and head straight
down the mountains,

you'll find yourself in the
fertile plains of Piedmont.

This region, tucked into the
northern corner of Italy,

is a wonder offering up
some of the best produce

in the world,

from exquisite white truffles

to rice for risotto

and the finest wines.

- It's incredible how,
really, Barolo, um,

you put it in a glass

and in ten minutes,
it's changed completely.

- The people here are fueled
by passion and ambition.

- They just don't
like to shout it up.

Oh, my God.

I'm Stanley Tucci.

I'm Italian on both sides,
and I'm traveling across Italy

to discover how the food
in each of this country's

20 regions is as unique as
the people and their past.

- It resurrects a dead person.

Piedmont's a place
that's always innovative.

- You have to be a
little bit crazy.

Yes.

- Here, you have to
expect the unexpected...

And come at things
a little differently

to unearth its real treasures.

- Italy has a
reputation for coffee.

But it's taken to
another level in Turin.

Its graceful squares
and elegant buildings

are the perfect setting to
linger over something potent

and warming.

If you squint, you can even
imagine yourself in Paris,

and that's no accident.

Turin is the capital
of Piedmont...

A region in the extreme
northwest of Italy,

directly on the
border with France.

Having such a larger-than-life
neighbor has left its mark.

French ideas, customs,
and food are everywhere.

Oh, buongiorno.

But if there's a drink
that sums it up, it's this:

Bicerin, a potion that's been
all the rage since the 1760's.

Can I put my spoon in it?

I know that sounds like
a naughty question.

That's really good.

coffee, chocolate, cream...

Different temperatures.

The French may have
introduced chocolate to Turin,

but only Italians could
have come up with a way

to suspend three
ingredients like this.

- Bicerin packs a
powerful punch...

Just the stuff to
fuel revolutions.

One of its greatest fans was a
19th-century Turin aristocrat

with a big idea.

Food writer and local
historian Paolo Vizzari,

has agreed to fill
me in on the details.

So good to see you.

Well, we got a nice day for it.

So tell me about that guy.

- Camillo Benso,
conte di Cavour.

He was the politician behind
the Italian unification.

- Before unification,

modern Italy as we
know it didn't exist.

Instead, it was a patchwork
of dukedoms and kingdoms...

The Spanish
controlling the south,

and the Austrians,
the northeast.

The Kingdom of Sardinia,
that ruled Piedmont,

led the fight to throw
out the foreign powers

and build an Italy
run by Italians.

What year is this now?

- 1861.
- '61.

And Turin then becomes
its first capital

for like... a minute and a
half or something, right?

- Yeah, something like that.

But we still have
a huge history,

especially in the
feeding of people.

- Turin may have lost out
to Rome in the long run,

but during its time
as the capital,

Italy became a modern
democratic nation

for the first time in history.

- This used to be the very
first Italian parliament.

- And Cavour, Italy's
first prime minister,

had good reason for
choosing this location

for the center of government.

- In front of the parliament,

Cavour had his
favorite restaurant.

Look at the distance.

- That's no more than 30 yards.

I see we have the
same priorities.

Ristorante del Cambio

first began serving
Turin's elite back in 1757,

and its doors have
been open ever since.

Let's see... no, it's locked!

Oh, well.

We'll have to get some pizza.

Actually, there's a
wonderful Chinese restaurant

around the corner there.

- Luckily, the staff
take pity on us,

and we get in before
the lunch rush.

Welcome to Versailles.

- It's a time warp, isn't it?

- And this is Cavour's table.

Every day, he used to
have lunch in that seat,

and from there, he could see
if his assistant was waving

his handkerchief
from the balcony,

which was the signal that he
had to go back to the office.

- And he had to go back,
'cause he would just stay here.

- Yeah, yeah, for hours.

My agent does that.

- Here, tradition is everything.

But Del Cambio's head
chef, Matteo Baronetto,

has made it his mission to drag

this historical landmark
into the 21st century

while still
preserving the essence

of what makes the
restaurant unique.

Matteo.
- How are you?

- Stanley.

It's a high-wire balancing act

that's earned him
a Michelin star.

- Matteo's not
your typical chef.

- I can... I can see that, yes.

Okay, enjoy.

- Foie gras is served with a
typically Italian vegetable,

cavolo nero... black kale.

Wow.

I don't have anything to say.

It's incredible. It's an
amazing mix of flavors.

The acidity, the sweetness...

- Yeah, I think it's a
good symbol for Turino

because it's super French
in the base, but then...

- But then it becomes Italian.

Matteo's unique take
on Piedmontese cuisine

pulls in Turin's chic crowd.

In the 19th century,
Cavour was a fan

of aristocratic French food.

But he also loved more
homey, regional dishes.

His favorite was a
Piedmontese classic:

finanziera, a stew made from
the cheaper parts of animals.

Brain.
- Veal brain.

- So the tes... like testes.
- ba*ls.

- Yeah, the ba*ls.
- All right.

And in the middle of...
- Of the spine.

- The spine, yeah.
- Ah.

- Offals, besides foie gras,

were not that used
in the noble food.

So this used to be
more regional food

than workers' food.
- Peasant food.

- Peasant food.

- Finanziera is so associated

with Cavour and this
restaurant, that Matteo

can't take it off the menu.

- It's almost a rough ragu.

- That's it?
- It's like the opposite

of what people try to do, no?

Hide it.

- We must do taste.
- Yeah, let's go.

The
traditional finanziera.

This is really delicious...

and delicate...

'cause you think it's
not gonna be delicate.

- That's also why Cavour
loved these kind of dishes,

because he was grown
up with French palate,

but in the end, he could
recognize how delicate it was.

- Yeah.

Matteo's reinvention.

Dip in the sauce and you taste.
- Okay.

Mmm.

I was afraid of the testicles.

But I'm not, no.
- They're good in there, huh?

- They're absolutely delicious.

I have to say, I love offal.

I do. But even... even I

was a little, like...

But it is really,
really delicious.

That kidney?
- Yeah.

- I love it.
- Like a cherry on the cake.

Oh, my God, I love it.

- In these dishes
that Cavour loved,

we find the contradictions
of Italy's birth.

Cavour thought French
and ate French.

But he also believed
in Piedmont and Italy,

and he loved the regional food.

You're amazing.

Amazing. Thank you so much.

You're incredible.
- Grazie.

- Piedmont has many
firsts to its name.

It's the birthplace
of modern Italy,

and Turin was its first capital.

But now, I'm going to
explore another first...

A food first.

So I'm heading to the

University of
Gastronomic Sciences,

which is run by the
slow food movement.

The genesis of the slow food
movement was when they opened

a McDonald's at the Spanish
Steps in Rome in the 1980s,

and a group of people
protested, and that was

the beginning of the movement.

It has, without question,
significantly changed

the world of food as we know it.

The campus is an
hour south of Turin

in the small town of Pollenzo.

And when I say small,
I mean... small.

Like, tiny.

Could we
go on smaller streets?

It's like a test.

What an amazing spot.

- This is clearly not your
average college campus.

Students here get to study in
a 19th-century Gothic palace,

originally built for
Piedmont's royal family.

All right, let's go.

- I'm meeting Carlo Petrini,
the founder of the university

and creator of the
slow food movement.

You might say a
real-life caped crusader.

- Slow food's mission is
to fight against bland,

industrialized food.

The university teaches the
value of regional specialties

from olive oil to wine.

It's all about savoring
food, drink, company,

the wonderful ritual of eating.

I've come back to Turin to see

slow food's philosophy in action

and understand the
movement's wider impact

across this region and beyond.

- Hi.
- Hi.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet...

- I'm Carlo. Welcome
to Piola Da Celso.

- Grazie.Hello.

- Elizabeta.
- Elizabeta.

- Elizabeta.

- Piola Da Celso is a
family-run business.

- Elizabeta does the cooking

and her son, Carlo,
serves the customers.

Today, Elizabeta is making
a Piedmontese specialty:

bagna càuda, a warm sauce
made from anchovies and garlic

that you dip vegetables into.

It's a dish that a few
years ago was in danger

of disappearing
from restaurants.

- Bagna càuda is a
traditional dish,

and not everyone
wants to eat something

that is very traditional.
- Yeah.

Is that because of the
slow food movement?

Yes it is.

- I've been told
Elizabeta's bagna càuda

is the best in town.

Where did bagna càuda come from?

- It was for poor people,
because anchovies with salt

were very, very cheap.

- And it gives an
incredible flavor too.

- I mean...
- Incredible flavor

and incredible breath.
- Bad breath?

- Oh, yes.
- Does it?

- Yes... the garlic kills

almost everyone you can
have in front of you.

Well, it wouldn't be the
first time I've ended up

reeking of garlic.

The crew will just
have to put up with it.

- Si, si, si.

- There are a lot of anchovies.
- I noticed.

I don't think there are
anymore left in the ocean.

- It's very particular dish.

You can find it
only in Piedmont.

- Yeah.
- And not in every restaurant.

It's very rare.
- Yeah.

- Sorry. Sorry.

- It resurrects a dead person.

- She want to know if you just
said "to put some energy."

- Finished? Oh, all right.

Elizabeta cooks everything
herself, fresh every day.

But it seems embracing
the traditional

means doing without
modern appliances.

- Si. I would
love it, actually.

- My new favorite word.

Mmm.

Oh, my God.

- That is amazing.

Mm.

Si.

Mmm.

If I smell of
garlic, I don't care.

Well, I'm starving.

Is the chef good?
- Yes.

- The classic, if slightly
unusual combination

of veal with a tuna
and caper sauce.

Meat-filled ravioli
bathed in roasting juices

called agnolotti.

- Oh, my God.

Wow. Wow.

And finally, the
local specialty:

roasted shoulder of veal.

- It's like a 11 out of 10.

Oh!

It's so good.
- You are very kind.

- No, I'm not kind.
Well, I'm not being kind.

In Piedmont, traditional,
regional food

is very much alive and well.

- She should be.

- It's all about passion.
- Yeah.

- What pizza is to Naples,

risotto is to Piedmont.

Half the rice grown
in the country

comes from this region.

It thrives on flood plains
in the Po River Valley,

northeast of Turin,
where its irrigated

by melting glacier
water from the Alps.

The town of Vercelli
is Italy's rice capital

with the risotterie,

places specializing in
risotto, everywhere.

But I've heard the best one
is, rather surprisingly,

hiding at the back
of 1960s hotel.

Oh, there it is.

Unassuming is the word.

Hi.

- Buongiorno.
- Buongiorno.

Thank you.

- Brothers Christian
and Manuel Costardi

pay homage to rice,

serving it in modern,
inventive ways

to diners who travel the
world to taste their risotto.

- We start with the rice.

- This is your rice.

- Yeah, this is, like,
a selection that we do

with a farm close to Vercelli
for the best rice for risotto.

It is carnaroli, and we do
the roasting of the rice.

It's one of the most important
procedure for the risotto.

We add salt and pepper.

- You're like toasting
it almost, right?

- Yes... the only
time that you can

give flavor to the rice.

After, you give
flavor to the risotto.

We add vegetable stock.
- Vegetable stock. Okay.

- Yes. Onion, carrot, celery.

- Yeah.

The Costardi brothers

celebrate the very best

of Piedmont's local produce.

Their signature dish
is a risotto made

with Lavazza coffee,
a beer reduction,

and grana padano cheese.

- And the risotto we do
now is a tribute to Italy.

And what we want
to do is to bring

four of the most
important regions

of everything in the dish.

- Are you both from this area?

- Yeah. We are
born in Vercelli.

The hotel was built by
our grandparents in 1967.

In 2005, we decided to
open our restaurant.

- Right.
- To try to do something new.

We... our born idea,

the idea to have 22 different
risotto in the menu.

- Christian and
Manuel's restaurant

is a million miles away from
a traditional risotteria,

which usually have only one or
two classic cheese or mushroom

risottos on the menu.

The brothers' inventive
approach has earned them

a Michelin star.

You are experimenting
all the time.

- Yes. We like to
take inspiration

from other penne in our life...

From music, from television,

from cinema, from
art, from everything.

We'll never forget what we
have outside our windows,

what we have around us, and
the rice, and the territory,

and Piedmont is very
important for us.

For this risotto is
grana padano cream.

- Oh, nice.

- And after, we have
the powder of coffee.

This is the coffee that
arrived from Ethiopia.

- Oh, yeah. Ooh, yeah.

- The coffee idea arrived
because I love the coffee.

What we try with each dish
that we produce is to broke

what is in your mind normally.

- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

- Okay, this is unsalted water.

- Unsalted. Okay.
- Yeah.

Music.

- Yes.

- You try?
- Not like that.

- It's not difficult.

- It's not?

No. Go. You do it.

That's so cool.

- These tins are born in
tribute to Andy Warhol.

Yes.

- This is the reduction of beer.

- Just beer?
- We just used the sugar

of the beer.
- Hmm, it's like caramel.

- Yes.
- Yeah.

- Bitter.
- Whoa!

- And when the mix from the
beer, coffee, and cheese

in the mouth, it's
like fresh mushroom.

- Now we add the grana
padano cream on top.

- This is completely
changing everything

I thought about risotto.

- Coffee on top and
beer at the end.

- Kay.
- What kind of spoon you want?

- I'll take that one.
- Okay.

- Yeah. Thank you.

That's a revelation.

That's like 1,000 things...
- Yes.

- In one can.
- Yes.

- Wow.

Also, the way you
cook the risotto...

It's so nice and firm.

- It's very important to
have the flavor of the rice.

You have to bite and
understand what is inside.

- That's unbelievable.

You're not doing it in Milan.

You're not doing it in Turin.

You're not doing it in Florence.

You're doing it here,
where you grew up.

- People say we are crazy.

Not only people outside,
but also our grandma.

- Yeah. She said
you were crazy.

- Yeah, when we begin,
our grandma say:

The brothers' love of rice

also inspires
their dessert menu.

And Manuel's signature dish
is "Rice Field in Winter."

- When I study this dish,
I go in the rice field

for taste the ground,
for smell the ground.

We use chestnut cream.

- What's that?
- It's rice ground.

It's a biscuit of rice
flour and chocolate.

We add some of the crispy rice.

- That one I used to
have for breakfast.

- Yes.
- I was a kid...

Not as good as that, but yeah.

- And the wintertime for us is
one of the most poetic moment

of the year.
- This is cool.

- You have to be a little bit...
- Crazy.

Yes.

- Put some liquid nitrogen.

- So what did he put in there?

- And then you're freezing it?

- Like snow. That's cool.

So now it's snowing.

That's genius.

- A morning in Vercelli.

Yeah, yeah.

I love it.

You eat it with this?
- Yeah.

- That's great.

It's not super-sweet.

I wanna have it in a cone.

- Thank you.
- God damn it.

Guys, how come I
never met you before?

My whole life, wasted.

- If you visit Piedmont,

there's something that grows
here that's so special,

the white truffle.

It's so coveted that
it's sold on the market

and at charity auctions
for huge sums of money.

- This season's
largest white truffles

are selling to bidders from
Italy and around the world.

- The auctioneer is
my friend from Turin,

food writer Paolo Vizzari.

He's got his work
cut out for him.

Bids for the delicate fungi
come in thick and fast.

- Luckily, the
buyer isn't put off.

The white truffle's value

seems to be pretty
much indestructible.

A truffle
weighing close to two pounds,

pulling in bidders from
Moscow and Hong Kong.

- That's $114,000.

When it comes to price,

white truffles from Piedmont

are in a league of their own.

Nice to see you again.

Nice to see you again.

Would any other truffle
from any other part of Italy

garner that much...
- No.

- Attention, and would
they get that much money?

- I don't think so.
- No.

- In the end, it's all about
the nature around here.

- Yeah. I couldn't
believe it, though,

when the guy
dropped the truffle.

That was
a chilling moment.

- No, there was one little
piece left on the floor.

I saw it.
- Did you pick it?

- No, no. I was
too embarrassed.

Because
it's probably like

20 grams.
- Yeah, I know!

There was like...
yeah.

- While the more common
black truffle can be farmed,

white truffles grow
only in the wild.

So auction houses rely
on truffle hunters

to source the white gold in
the forests of the Langhe,

an area of rolling hills
40 miles south of Turin.

Here, conditions are perfect.

Warm air from the south

pushes back cold
currents from the Alps,

and summer rainfall feeds
the mineral-rich soil.

White truffles sell

for extraordinary
amounts of money

because they're so hard to find,

even if you know
what you're doing.

I'm going to meet
a truffle hunter,

and we're gonna catch a big one.

The competition between
truffle hunters is intense,

and they're obsessed with
guarding their secrets.

But I'm meeting someone
who's agreed to show me some

of what he knows.

This is gonna be interesting.

Okay. Here we go.

- Stanley.

- Igor Bianchi is known as
the king of truffle hunters.

Hi.

- They're border collie.
- Border collie.

Well, shall we?

Let's go.

So beautiful.

- Lola and Susy
have been trained

since they were puppies

to detect the
truffles' unique scent.

Okay.

- Igor once found
a monster truffle

weighing just over two pounds.

So you never know what
we might find today.

Hey, Lola! Hey!

- For all of Igor's expertise,

the last few years have been
tough for truffle hunters.

Climate change has meant
less summer rainfall.

Hence, fewer truffles.

- It seems that the truffles
are being shy today.

- With truffles harder to find,

they're becoming more
precious than ever.

Luckily for me, Igor did
find a truffle yesterday,

and he wants to cook up
a classic truffle dish

in his garage.

Oh, my God.

- Nothing else in the
world is like that.

Simple recipes are best
when it comes to showing off

the truffle's flavor.

So Igor's cooking me
eggs fried in butter,

topped with shaved truffle.

- Ah... I see. Mmm.

- Okay, now... right.
Now it has to...

Despite all the razzmatazz
and velvet cushions,

when it comes down
to it, white truffles

are really a simple,
earthy pleasure

straight from Mother Nature.

- Eh?
- Mmm.

Grazie.

- In the Langhe,
I'm on the trail

of another coveted treat
that comes from this land

of coveted treats.

It's so beautiful.

Due to a unique combination
of geography and climate,

these hills are home not
only to the white truffle,

but also one of Italy's
most celebrated red wines.

Giulia Negri is the first
person in her family

to make Barolo from
vines on this estate.

So you inherited this place?

- Yes.
- From your family?

- They were a big family
of engineer from Turina.

- Uh-huh.
- And they bought it in 1870...

- Yeah.

- These slopes get
a lot of sun...

Although, not today...

Making them perfect
for growing Nebbiolo,

a thin-skinned grape
that's hard to cultivate

outside this region.

It's the only grape that
can be used to make Barolo.

So you have how
many hectares of...

- We have six hectare
and a half of vineyard,

so they are all around here
the house, and 12 forests.

It's among the last forests
in all the Barolo area.

- Oh, really?
- And this is why

we're really
protecting it a lot.

- Whereas a lot of winemakers
might get rid of that forest

and plant more...
- Vines?

Exactly.
- Yep.

Barolo produced exclusively in
this tiny corner of the Langhe

is one of Italy's finest
and most expensive wines.

"Nebbia" is Italian for "fog."

And when the fogs of fall come,

that's when the
Nebbiolo is harvested.

So I'm here at the perfect time

to see how Giulia
transforms these grapes.

Come in.

So here, you can
smell it, definitely.

- I definitely smell it.

- We finished the
harvest two weeks ago.

- Mm-hmm.

- We are truly in the
peak of the fermentations,

and if you listen...

Oh, yeah! Both: It's alive.

It's alive!

- Wow.
- Our job is to keep the cap

always wet during
the fermentation

because otherwise, it
becomes like vinegar.

- Oh, vinegar?
- Yeah.

- You're putting wine...
- We are pumping it

from the lower parts.

- Oh, you're pumping it from
the bottom into the top.

- Exactly.
- Oh, I see, I see.

I'd like to have
this in my kitchen.

- Did you go and study
wine-making, or you just...

- I never studied wine-making.
- Try it yourself?

- Not knowing nothing
about it, uh, made me learn

really faster.
- Yeah.

- Wine is more...
Is like cooking.

- Yeah.

It's the same.

- It's more really...

- You feel it.
- I don't know how to say.

- Now for the best
part of the process.

For me, at least.

- Now it is a Barolo
that is very young.

It will be a 2019.

It will stays two
year here. So, easy.

- Right.
- And the half of these aging.

- I'm not spitting that out.

It's delicious.

- Mm.
- But you can tell it just

needs more time.

- Definitely.
- Yeah.

How old are you?

- 30. Last week.

- That's incredible.

One of the region's
youngest vintners,

Giulia's instinctive
feel for the grapes,

plus her meticulous
observation of the process,

makes her wine outstanding.

- So we will open
another Barolo...

- Okay.
- But the last vintage,

which is the 2017.

Cheers.

- Welcome, Stanley.
- Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Mmm, that's really nice.
- Mm.

- That's great.

It is distinctly different.
- Yes.

- Than the 2019, which
is still in the...

- Barrel.
- In the barrel.

The tannins are more prominent.

And yeah, at the same
time, it's sort of lighter

and more delicate.
- Mm-hmm.

- Si, it's more balanced, no?
- Literally,

it was off-balance.

It's going back and forth.

That's the longest description
of any glass of wine

that anyone's ever made...

- And I'm really
sorry. I am sorry.

I could say that...
What, you know...

It
has notes of strawberry.

But I won't say that,

'cause it doesn't.

I'll just say it's pretty good,

and it's getting better.

- Yep.
- As it's opening...

- Open up, but it's incredible
how really Barolo...

You put it in a glass,
and in ten minutes,

it's changed completely.
- Totally.

- So you need the truffle
to pair it, and then...

- I know. Well, let's
go look for one.

- I cannot resist
the call of the Alps,

which dominate the skyline
everywhere in Piedmont.

Finally going up in the world,

I've ascended to Italy's
smallest and highest region:

Valle D'Aosta.

Nestled in the Alps, its
cuisine is influenced

by close neighbors
France and Switzerland.

As usual, I'm famished,

and there's a little
restaurant at the foot

of the Matterhorn
dedicated to Alpine food:

Alpage.

- Hello, nice to meet you.
- Hello.

Welcome, Stanley.
- Thank you.

Thanks... thanks for having me.

Cecilia Lazzarotto, a local
teacher and sommelier,

knows a thing or two about the
best this region has to offer.

Are we gonna eat?
- Yes, we can go outside,

if you want.
- Let's go outside.

- Yeah.
- Okay.

- With views like these,
you have to eat outside.

What do we have?

- This is, um...
- Jambon.

- Oh, you're speaking French.

All right, go ahead.

This is one is Lard d'Arnad.

Yeah, lardo.

- Thank you. Very good.
- Grazie.

- Look at that... How
beautiful that is.

So this region, there
are basically...

three different languages.

But I think most of the
population of our region

is consider themselves Italian.
- Italian.

- It's strange because we
never seeing the other side

of the mountain.

But we know who are
in the other side.

- And if there's one dish

that Valle D'Aosta's close
neighbors are famous for...

- Oh! Grazie.
- It's fondue.

On this side of the mountains,

it's called "fonduta,"

and over here, they make
it a little differently.

- Yeah.
- The difference between,

for example, Switzerland
and France...

They have fonduta with
different cheese...

- What do they use?
- Gruyère?

- Gruyère?
- Maybe a bit of frachet.

- Italian fontina cheese
from cows fed on sweet grass

high in these mountains make
the fonduta so luscious,

it doesn't need the
white wine they add

in France or Switzerland.

Mmm. Oh, my God,
that is so good.

- That is incredible.

- So delicious.

All these dishes are
packed with calories...

Perfect for a day
high in the mountains,

and I couldn't leave without
going to the top of one.

I've actually skied here before,

and the view from the
peak is spectacular.

I can't wait to see it again.

And then, as if on cue...

Look at... we're just
enveloped in cloud.

Here we go right into it.

Well, that was a trip
for nothing, right?

- We are on the border.

So we have to cross.
- Okay, ready?

- Yeah.

You are ready?
- Ciao, Italia.

- Okay. Wow, we
are in Switzerland.

- We're in Switzerland.

Oh, wait, I forgot something.

- Is that where we're going?
- Yeah.

- Rifugio. Rifugio.
- Rifugio.

- What better way to end
my journey to the Alps

than with a glass
of the local liquor?

Génépi is a real winter warmer.

It's made with wormwood
and Alpine plants

celebrated for its
healing properties.

- Cheers.
- Thank you so much.

- Thank you to you.

It's fantastic.
- Whoa!

- From herbs... From,
uh, from mountains...

- Oof!
- Fantastic, no?

- Yes!

- The génépi has brightened
things up considerably,

inside and out.

Oh, look. Now we
can really see it.

- Yeah!

- Yeah.

It's difficult to
describe sometimes, huh?

I see them and I shut up

because it's impossible
to talk about.

- Beautiful.

Stretched out below
is Valle D'Aosta

and Piedmont beyond,

where the Italian
nation was born...

A region without which

I wouldn't be searching
for Italy at all.