Italy’s Piedmont region is hidden in the extreme northwest, nestled against the French border. One of the most important economic and industrial areas of the country, Piedmont also boasts pristine natural gifts in her mountains and lakes. Perhaps mercifully, this fascinating and beautiful corner of Italy has been bypassed by the armies of tourists who have captured Venice, Florence and Rome. That is about to change.

The capital, Turin, hosts the 20th Winter Olympic Games this month (February 10–26, 2006). Home to 862,000, Turin is at the same time enchanting and modern, regal and bohemian, elegant and raw, glorious and passionate.

With close to 2 million visitors expected during the Olympics, Turin will no longer be anonymous. But forget the 13th century baroque architecture of the Savoy family dynasty, which ruled the city until 1536 when it was occupied by the French. Forget the modern industrial powerhouse of Italy’s automobile industry, and don’t think about the exceptional art collections and legendary nightlife of the city. What will all those people eat?

The truffle is an expensive delicacy, worth every euro.

Fortunately, Italians do not often miss a good meal, and Turin is no exception. But with the enormous variety of bread, pasta, cheese, meat, fish and wine to choose from, you need a bit of advice. The truth is, just about anything will taste good; but I found the best foods of Turin to be truffles, Barolo wine and chocolate.

Turin ’s most famous gastronomic celebrity, the truffle (tartufo), is a fungus that grows just below ground among the roots of hardwood trees. While the black truffle proffers a mild flavor that diminishes with cooking, its royal cousin, the white truffle, has a pungent, powerful taste that stands up to pasta, risotto or any cut of meat. Available in limited areas and only in late autumn, Italy’s most precious white truffles come from around Turin, and are spectacularly expensive.

Truffle collection is shrouded in stealth and mystery. Specially bred dogs sniff out the treasure for their masters. Once removed from the ground and wrapped carefully in delicate linen handkerchiefs, the prize is carried to local markets. They are sold in quiet stalls away from the bustle and din of merchants selling more common goods. Prices for white truffles (which are ten times as expensive as black truffles) routinely exceed US$ 1,000 per pound.

Hours later, your waiter shaves wafer-thin slices onto your meal. The number of shavings determines the price, which will vary from stratospheric to ridiculous. The rich, smoky and aromatic delight is worth every euro.

Wash down your truffles (along with remorse at the cost) with a glass of Barolo, which has a deep garnet color and rich, heady flavor. Barolo is produced from the finest of the regional nebbiolo grapes. Nebbiolo is derived from the Italian word nebbia, for fog. The grapes are harvested in late October, when an intense fog settles into the Barolo region where nebbioli thrive.