Sunday 14 June – 2026 Rice Tour – Piedmont
ESAURITO / SOLD OUT
Discover the World of Italian Rice – A unique day out amongst the rice fields between Novara and Vercelli!
Did you know that Italy is Europe’s largest rice producer and that cultivation takes place mainly in the plains of Piedmont and Lombardy?
Join our RICE TOUR and discover the history of rice, the cultivation methods used in the rice fields, the use and importance of water, and the biodiversity in the rice fields. You’ll also learn more about the wide variety of rice types, as well as their differences and characteristics, depending on which recipe you’d like to try.
Spend a day discovering the landscapes, history and flavours of Italy’s rice-growing region.
Programme Highlights:
- Join a guided tour* of a traditional Rice Farm surrounded by rice fields, featuring an old waterwheel-powered rice mill and the historic dormitory of the “mondine” (the women who between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries worked in the rice fields)!
- Enjoy lunch at a typical restaurant, where dishes are prepared using rice from the local farms!
- Explore landscape and agricultural features on a guided walk* amongst the rice paddies (an easy walk of about 4 km on flat terrain, subject to weather conditions)!
- Enjoy a guided visit* of the beautiful Abbey of San Nazzaro Sesia!
*All guided tours and visits are offered in English and Italian (2 groups, minimum 15 people each group required)
Cost (ACE members): full (adults): €50
reduced (under18): €40
Including transport by bus, all entrance fees, all guided tours and visits, 3-course lunch with wine, water and coffee. Departure from JRC Ispra at 8.30 am, return at approximately 6 pm.