Vercelli Rice Paddies

Rice has been grown around Vercelli since the fifteenth century and the province is the largest producer in Europe. From April the fields are flooded to protect the young plants, and until the shoots grow through, the plain becomes a shallow sheet of water reflecting sky, poplars and farmhouses, an effect called the mare a quadretti, the chequered sea. Until mechanisation the crop needed mondine, women hired seasonally to weed the paddies barefoot in the water, whose work songs entered the Italian repertoire; the 1949 film Riso Amaro was made in these fields. Arborio and Carnaroli varieties come from here.

What you actually see

• The flooded fields - a mirror plain from April until the shoots rise.
• The grange farms - large courtyard estates built for rice production.
• The mondine history - the seasonal weeders and their work songs.
• The rice varieties - Arborio and Carnaroli grown across the province.

When to go

April to June for the flooded mirror effect, which ends as the plants grow. Harvest is September and October. Summer heat and mosquitoes are heavy on the plain.

Honest expectations

The flooding window is short and varies by year and field. This is farmland, not a park, with limited public access and few facilities. Mosquitoes are severe.

Nearby

Turin lies west; Milan is east.