Cortazzone.

Cortazzone sits on a ridge in the province of Asti. It has a Romanesque church, a castle, a handful of streets, and some of the finest truffle grounds in Italy.

Most people have never heard of it. That, in many ways, is the point. The places that produce the best things are rarely the places that announce it. Cortazzone does not need to. Its forests know.

This is where Riva & C. was born, and where it operates. Via Vanara, Via del Castello — addresses that appear on no food tourism map, in a village the GPS still gets slightly wrong. Which is fine. Some things are better found by those who know where to look.

The Monferrato hills that surround it have been producing truffles, wine, and quiet excellence for centuries. We are simply the latest chapter.