Picture fog as far as the eye can see. Fog so thick you can’t see beyond your nose, and when the fog finally gives some respite and subsides, an immense plain stretching all the way into the distance, expanses of fields repeating themselves identically without interruption, a few farmsteads here and there, barely any trees or hills.

The snow of the Monte Rosa, to the north, is the only reference point on the odd day of sun. This is how the province of Vercelli, eastern Piedmont, appears on your average day of November. Though rice may not be the carb most affiliated with our country, Italy is Europe’s leading producer of the grain at 50% of the EU total, with 1.3 million tons produced per year–53% of which is exported to other European countries.