The Truffle Route: Rome – Nizza Monferrato – Rome
Rome → Nizza Monferrato → Rome
The Truffle Route is a three-day, two-night round journey aboard La Dolce Vita Orient Express that sweeps north from Rome through the rolling Apennines and into the UNESCO-listed vineyard landscapes of Piedmont's Monferrato hills. Departing from Rome Ostiense in the late afternoon, guests are welcomed into an exquisitely restored train whose interiors blend cool Italian modernism with the golden-age glamour of the Orient Express — wooden-slat ceilings, mirrored walls, brass accents, and bespoke Italian craftsmanship throughout.
The journey's centrepiece is a full day in and around Nizza Monferrato, the self-proclaimed capital of Barbera wine, set among hillside vineyards recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here guests choose from a curated set of off-train excursions: a hands-on truffle hunt through the Piedmontese woodland with an expert hunter and trained dogs; an immersive visit to the historic Tenuta Cucco estate; or a descent into the extraordinary Underground Cathedrals of Canelli, where Moscato d'Asti and Metodo Classico sparkling wines age in tunnels carved up to 30 metres into the tufa rock. Every experience concludes with a traditional Piedmontese lunch built around truffles and local wines.
Evenings on board belong to Chef Heinz Beck, Rome's only three-Michelin-starred chef, whose menus celebrate Italy's regional larder with dishes that shift with the season. Live music in the Bar Car and the gentle rhythm of the train complete a journey that is as much about the pleasure of travel as it is about the destination.
- ✦Truffle hunting in Monferrato's ancient woodland with expert hunters and trained dogs
- ✦Visit to the UNESCO Underground Cathedrals of Canelli for sparkling wine tasting
- ✦Two gala dinners by three-Michelin-starred Chef Heinz Beck
- ✦Nizza Monferrato — UNESCO vineyard landscapes and the capital of Barbera wine
- ✦Tenuta Cucco winery tour through century-old vineyards including the 60-year-old Vigna Cucco
- ✦Live music in the Bar Car and Italian Aperitivo each evening
- ✦Luxury Deluxe Cabin or Suite accommodation across two overnight journeys
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Rome Ostiense: Departure
Guests board La Dolce Vita Orient Express in the mid-to-late afternoon at Roma Ostiense station, Rome's dedicated terminal for this service. After settling into their Deluxe Cabin or Suite, passengers are invited to the Bar Car for an Italian Aperitivo — signature cocktails, light antipasti, and Prosecco — as the train eases northward through the Roman Campagna and into the Apennine foothills. As dusk falls over the landscape, the Restaurant Car opens for a gala dinner by Chef Heinz Beck. Menus change by season but have featured dishes such as lamb encrusted with olives and artichokes, handmade pasta with regional ragù, and refined mushroom tartlets — each celebrating a different facet of Italy's culinary geography. Following dinner, live music fills the Bar Car for an evening of entertainment before guests retire to their cabins for an overnight journey north toward Piedmont.
Day 2 — Nizza Monferrato: Truffle Country
The train arrives at Nizza Monferrato in the morning after a night gliding through northern Italy. Guests enjoy a leisurely Italian breakfast — espresso, pastries, fresh fruit, cold cuts — either in their cabin or in the Restaurant Car as the Monferrato hills come into view. On arrival, guests disembark for one of three curated half-day excursions included in the journey:
- The Truffle Hunt: Guests accompany an expert local truffle hunter and a pair of specially trained dogs through the unspoiled woodland and hillsides of Monferrato in search of the prized white and black truffles that have made this region legendary. The hunt is followed by a traditional Piedmontese lunch at which truffles take centre stage — shaved generously over tajarin egg pasta, risotto, and local cheeses — accompanied by glasses of Barbera d'Asti and Nizza DOCG wines.
- Tenuta Cucco Winery: A welcome glass of wine greets guests at this historic estate nestled among century-old vineyards, including the famed Vigna Cucco plot — a single vineyard more than sixty years old — and the Cru Cerrati. A guided walk through the vineyards and aging cellars, where wines mature quietly in oak barrels, is followed by a traditional Piedmontese lunch paired with the estate's finest bottles.
- Canelli Underground Cathedrals: A short drive brings guests to the medieval town of Canelli, where historic cellars — dubbed the Underground Cathedrals — tunnel up to 30 metres beneath the tufa hillside for some 20 kilometres in total. Declared Italy's 50th UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, these extraordinary subterranean galleries are where Moscato d'Asti and Metodo Classico sparkling wines age at a constant 12–14°C. A guided tour concludes with a tasting of local wines and a traditional Piedmontese lunch.
After the excursion, guests return to the train in the afternoon. As the train departs southward toward Rome, the second evening unfolds much like the first: Aperitivo in the Bar Car, a second Chef Heinz Beck dinner in the Restaurant Car, and live musical entertainment into the night.
Day 3 — Rome Ostiense: Arrival
Guests wake on the final morning to a gentle Italian breakfast as the train completes the overnight return run to Rome. The train arrives at Roma Ostiense in the morning, and guests disembark refreshed after two nights in some of the finest accommodation on rails — their bags packed with memories of truffle-scented hills, ancient wine cellars, and the particular pleasure of watching Italy unspool past a panoramic train window.
Destinations & Highlights
Nizza Monferrato, Piedmont
Nizza Monferrato sits at the heart of the Province of Asti in southern Piedmont, surrounded by the undulating vineyard landscapes that UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014 under the designation Vineyard Landscapes of Piedmont: Langhe–Roero and Monferrato. The town traces its origins to at least the 11th century, when it formed part of the Marquisate of Monferrato, passing through centuries of dynastic contest before coming under the House of Savoy in 1708. Today it is celebrated above all as the capital of Barbera: the surrounding hills produce the acclaimed Nizza DOCG, a 100% Barbera wine with stricter regulations than the broader Barbera d'Asti appellation, recognised as one of Piedmont's great reds. The handsome Piazza Garibaldi — known locally as la cima di Nizza — anchors the historic centre alongside the baroque Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista and the Museo Bersano, one of Piedmont's finest wine museums, housed within a historic winery and filled with centuries of viticultural artefacts.
The Monferrato Hills and Truffle Country
The wooded hillsides around Nizza Monferrato and the broader Asti province are among Italy's most celebrated truffle-producing territories. Both the prized white truffle (Tuber magnatum pico) — harvested from October to January — and the black truffle are found here, the white commanding extraordinary prices and a devoted following among the world's finest chefs. Truffle hunting in Monferrato is an ancient practice passed from generation to generation, conducted in the early morning hours by hunters (trifolau) and their carefully trained Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, whose remarkable olfactory sense locates truffles buried up to a metre underground. The hunt feeds directly into Piedmont's deeply rooted culinary tradition: tajarin (thin egg pasta), risotto, fonduta, and local cheeses are all vehicles for the shaved truffle that defines the regional table in autumn and winter.
Canelli and the Underground Cathedrals
The medieval hilltop town of Canelli, a short drive from Nizza Monferrato, holds a secret that runs for some 20 kilometres beneath its streets: the famous Cattedrali Sotterranee, or Underground Cathedrals, a network of historic wine cellars carved into the soft tufa rock to depths of up to 32 metres. It was here, in 1865, that Carlo Gancia produced Italy's very first spumante using the Champagne method, establishing Canelli as the cradle of Italian sparkling wine. The cellars, which maintain a year-round temperature of 12–14°C ideal for wine maturation, were declared Italy's 50th UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. They age the region's flagship wines: Moscato d'Asti DOCG, a gently sparkling, low-alcohol sweet wine scented with peach and apricot, and the fuller Asti Spumante DOCG, as well as complex Metodo Classico wines. A visit to the Underground Cathedrals is a journey through both architecture and oenology — the vaulted stone galleries lined with riddling racks and ancient oak casks recall a cathedral nave in atmosphere as much as in name.
Together, these destinations — Rome's imperial grandeur, the vineyard-covered hills of Monferrato, the truffles of Asti province, and Canelli's subterranean wine world — form a portrait of Italy at its most sensuous and storied, experienced at the unhurried pace of a luxury overnight train.