Between Vercelli and the Canavese area lies a corner of Piedmont that many people drive through without ever imagining what it hides.
Rice fields stretch towards the horizon, water reflects the sky, and time seems to follow a different rhythm.
In the middle of this suspended landscape lies Castell’Apertole, a tiny hamlet belonging to Livorno Ferraris that rises from the plain like a village from another era.
It is here, in the heart of what feels like a small Piedmontese Middle-earth, that you will find Trattoria Balin, a restaurant that has become a reference point for anyone looking for authentic local cuisine.
This is where one of Piedmont’s most fascinating food stories has been unfolding for almost half a century.
The story of Balin: the courage to leave everything behind
The story of the restaurant began in the summer of 1977, and it is a story worth telling because it is about courage, determination and intuition.
Angelo Silvestro, known to everyone as Balin, happened to pass by what was then an old inn that had been closed for years, the former Osteria da Ciccio. At the time, he was working in a bank, but he had always dreamed of opening a restaurant of his own.
That remote place among the rice fields exerted an irresistible pull on him.
It was not an easy decision.
The owner of the property even tried to discourage him, reminding him of the many businesses that had already failed in the same building. His family was also far from enthusiastic about the idea of leaving a secure job to pursue such an uncertain project.
But that very Piedmontese stubbornness gave birth to Balin.
On December 31, 1977, the adventure officially began.
At first, Angelo worked almost entirely on his own, helped by his grandmother Mina, who remained by his side until the extraordinary age of 103.
Soon afterwards came his father Alberto, his mother Maria Pia, the keeper of the family’s traditional Piedmontese recipes, and later his wife Anna.
Since 2004, their daughter Francesca has also been a permanent part of the restaurant. Today, she is involved in the dining room, the wine cellar and the world of desserts.
What began as a gamble gradually became one of the most appreciated restaurants in the Vercelli area and is now listed in the Michelin Guide, recognition of a cuisine deeply rooted in its territory.
Castell’Apertole, the land of the Grange
To really understand the cuisine at Balin, you first have to understand the landscape surrounding it.
Castell’Apertole is part of the ancient system of the Vercelli Grange, large agricultural estates developed by Cistercian monks during the Middle Ages.
For centuries, these lands have been shaped by water, agriculture and rice cultivation.
Even today, the landscape has something deeply evocative about it.
In spring, when the rice fields are flooded, the sky is reflected in the water, creating an almost endless horizon. Farmhouses seem to float on the landscape, and time takes on a different rhythm.
Here, land and water have coexisted for centuries.
And it is precisely from this balance that the cuisine at Balin is born.
A table that speaks the language of the rice fields
At Balin, you don’t simply eat well.
You taste the territory.
Every dish tells the story of the Vercelli plain and the centuries-old relationship between people and rice.
The historic rice varieties cultivated in the surrounding countryside become the protagonists of a cuisine that respects tradition without becoming trapped by it.
Among the starters, one classic of Piedmontese cuisine is impossible to miss: vitello tonnato, veal with tuna sauce, prepared according to a philosophy that favours balance and elegance.
Alongside it come local cured meats, Fassona beef tartare and dishes that follow the rhythm of the seasons.
But when the risottos arrive, the story reaches its most intense moment.
The house signature is the famous risotto served inside a wheel of Parmigiano cheese.
The risotto is finished directly inside the large wheel, where the rice absorbs its aromas and flavours, becoming rich, creamy and perfectly balanced.
Watching it arrive at the table is already a spectacle.
Tasting it while surrounded by the very rice fields that produced the rice on your plate gives a whole new meaning to the word local.
Here, farm-to-table is not simply a slogan.
The territory is literally right in front of your eyes.
Palazzo Chiablese, a hidden residence among the rice fields
A visit to Castell’Apertole deserves to be extended with a walk around the hamlet.
Not far away stands the fascinating Palazzo Chiablese di Castell’Apertole, an 18th-century Savoy hunting residence.
According to local tradition, it was frequented by Carlo Felice of Savoy, who enjoyed spending time here away from court.
Surrounded by greenery and rice fields, the palace adds another layer of fascination to a place that seems to preserve forgotten stories and secrets.
The small circular cemetery: one of Piedmont’s most mysterious places
There is, however, one place that more than any other makes Castell’Apertole unique.
Along the road towards Livorno Ferraris, you come across one of the most unusual places in Piedmont: the small circular cemetery of Castell’Apertole.
When the rice fields are flooded, it appears like an island suspended above the water.
No one knows exactly why it has such a perfectly circular shape, an absolute rarity in a plain dominated by straight lines and agricultural geometries.
The small cemetery, now abandoned and deconsecrated, continues to inspire stories, mysteries and speculation.
Walking towards that brick circle surrounded by the silence of the rice fields feels almost unreal.
It isn’t frightening.
Instead, it creates a strange feeling of peace and suspension.
Exactly like everything else around Castell’Apertole.
Why Balin is worth your time
Piedmont has many excellent restaurants.
Few, however, manage to combine food, history, landscape and identity quite like Trattoria Balin in Castell’Apertole.
If you’re wondering where to eat in Vercelli, this is not simply a restaurant to add to a list.
The gastronomic journey begins long before you sit down at the table.
It starts on the roads crossing the famous “sea of squares” of the Vercelli rice fields.
It is the story of a family that had the courage to pursue a dream against all odds.
It is a celebration of an agricultural culture that continues to live on through food.
And it is a small corner of authentic Piedmont, away from the most travelled routes, where every risotto tells a story of the land and every stone seems to preserve a memory.
When, after lunch, you return to the roads surrounded by water and fields, you may find yourself with the feeling that you have discovered more than a restaurant.
You have discovered one of those rare places that stays in your memory long after the taste of a dish has faded.
How to get to Castell’Apertole from Turin and Milan
One of the great advantages of Trattoria Balin is its ability to make you feel far from everything while remaining easily accessible from the main cities of northern Italy.
From Turin, it takes just over fifty minutes by car. Take the A4 motorway towards Milan and exit at Santhià, then continue towards Livorno Ferraris and Castell’Apertole as the landscape gradually becomes more rural.
From Milan, the journey takes around one hour and fifteen minutes along the A4 towards Turin.
The final kilometres are probably the most fascinating.
The major highways gradually give way to country roads crossing the Vercelli rice fields, with canals, historic farmhouses and stretches of water that, during the flooded seasons, transform the plain into an almost surreal landscape.
This gradual transition from city to countryside is part of the experience.
By the time you arrive, the landscape has already begun preparing you for the meal ahead, making lunch or dinner at Balin part of a small escape into authentic Piedmont
What to see nearby: a day among rice fields, abbeys and hidden villages
A meal at Trattoria Balin can easily become the centrepiece of a full day exploring the most authentic side of the Vercelli area.
The surroundings of Castell’Apertole are home to surprising places that remain relatively unknown to mass tourism, where history, nature and rice-growing culture have intertwined for centuries.
Just a few kilometres away, for example, lies the fascinating Principato di Lucedio, an ancient Cistercian abbey that played a fundamental role in the development of rice cultivation in Piedmont and in shaping the landscape that characterises the area today.
If you would like to discover more about its history, read our article Lucedio Abbey Italy: The Hidden Gem of Piedmont.
If you want to continue exploring, head towards Livorno Ferraris and Bianzè, two towns filled with historical traces, curiosities and views that reveal the authentic character of the Vercelli plain.
Between old farmhouses, churches, rural roads and landscapes shaped by water, this part of Piedmont offers a slow and surprising experience, far from the most popular tourist itineraries.
For ideas and practical inspiration, take a look at our guide Things to Do in Bianzè and Livorno Ferraris: Hidden Gems
In this way, lunch or dinner at Balin becomes more than a gastronomic stop.
It becomes part of a wider journey through the identity of this land: the rice fields, the abbeys, the great farm estates and the small villages that continue to preserve extraordinary stories in the heart of Piedmont.
And perhaps this is the real answer to the question where to eat in Vercelli.
Sometimes the best restaurant is not simply the place where you eat.
It is the place that makes you understand where you are.
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