Europe >> Italy >> Northwest Italy >> Piedmont

Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte) is a region in the north west of Italy, next to the border with France. The main city is Turin (Italian: Torino), which was host to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including the Monviso, where the Po River rises, and the Monte Rosa. It borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Aosta Valley.

The area is justly famous for its wines, which include some of the best produced from Italy such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto and Moscato D'Asti, its local cuisine reknown throughout Italy and the precious white truffles of this region which have been compared to gold because of their cost and delicacy..

Cities

  • Turin (Torino) was the first capital of modern Italy
  • Alba - is the entrance to the Langhe. Founded by the Romans, its historical centre still remains inside ancient Roman walls. Alba is best known for its elegant wines and exotic truffles as well as the home of Nutella Chocolate spread.
  • Acqui Terme [1] - a beautiful Roman town famous for its hot sulphur springs and ancient baths.
  • Asti - center of the Piedmont wine area, an important medieval republic known as “City of 100 Towers”, of which around 15 still stand in the old historical walled city. The Palio di Asti, Italy's oldest Palio is held here every September in conjunction with the Douja D'Or wine festival and the Sagre Festival.
  • Bardonecchia - mountain town with main focus of skiing, also the Italian entrance to the Frejus Tunnel which connects to France.
  • Barolo - a small town south of Alba, world famous for its red wine
  • Biella - a small town with a strong tradition in wool and clothes production
  • Bra - city situated midway between Cuneo and Turin, on the edge of the Langhe near the Tanaro river. It is one of the main centres of the Piedmontese Baroque style with its many churches and palaces of the 17th and 18th century. Bra is also in the heart of the so-called food valley, and the seat of a University of Gastronomic Science.
  • Verbania
  • Cuneo - Piedmont's largest province, one of the main centres of Italian "Resistenza" during World War 2.

Other destinations

  • The Langhe, Monferrato and Roero hills lie in the centre of Piedmont and are a mixture of limestone and sandstone deposits laid down by the retreating Adriatic 3 million years ago, now cut by numerous river valleys and the area of most of Piedmont's wines.
  • The Langhe [2] - to the south and west of the river Tanaro famous for its wines, and for its truffles. The hills of the Langhe contain Piedmont's finest vineyards. The grapes grown in this region are primarily nebbiolo, dolcetto and barbera. The nebbiolo grape is used to make the renowned Piedmontese red wines Barolo and Barbaresco. Within the Langhe are famous wine towns such as Barolo, La Morra, Monforte, Serralunga d'Alba and Barbaresco.
  • Monferrato - extending from Turin to the eastern border of Alessandria, bounded by the Po river to the north and merging into the Langhe in the South. The Monferatto is divided into Northern and Southern areas with Asti in the centre. This area is is also a well known wine area particularly for Barbera d'Asti, as well as less known varieties such as Fresia, Grignolino, Brachetto, Malavasia and Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato. The Monferrato is also famous for its white truffles found in Autumn and celebrated in local festivals each Sunday.
  • Roero - the hills situated on the West Bank of the Tanaro river between Alba and Asti. The sandier soil produces light Nebbiolo wines as well as Piedmont’s best white variety the Arneis. The area is also famous for its honey; there is a beekeeping trail you can walk, as well as peaches (check the local markets in summer and autumn). And then there is the Eco-museum of the Roero rocks, or the great path of the Roero a hiking trail stretching from Cisterna to Bra which incorporates the Roero rocks, ancient lime and sandstone cliffs.
  • Pinerolo
  • Saluzzo
  • Candelo - fortified village of XIII century near Biella
  • Susa
  • Alessandria
  • Novato
  • Vercelli
  • Lake Maggiore
  • Lake Orta

Culture and History

Piedmont people are probably the most shy in Italy. Their understatement and lack of emotional behavior is often something that other Italians laugh at. This region has been the industrial heart of Italy since 1800, even though nowadays it's experiencing some economic difficulty connected with deindustrialization.

The Monarchy has left strong heritage across the region, particularly in wide natural parks (former king's hunting reserves) and in XVIII and XIX century buildings.

Talk

Piedmontese is spoken by about 2-3 million people throughout Piedmont. However, Italian dominates everyday communication.

In 2004, Piedmontese was recognised as Piedmont's regional language by the regional parliament, although the Italian government does not recognise it. It has, however, been recognized as a separate language by the European Union. It is supposed to be taught to children in school, but this is happening only in a limited way.

Travel to Piedmont - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Piedmont

Piedmont is well served by airports.

Caselle airport (TRN) [3] in Turin is the main airport of Piedmont. It has regular flights with main European hubs and Italian cities operated by major airlines as well as low fares companies.

Milan has three airports; Malpensa, Linate and Orio al Serio:

  • The international hub is Malpensa (MXP)[4] which is the top Italian airport in terms of international traffic. It has direct connections with railway and highway networks. The airport is connected to Milan by the Milano-Varese highway as well by a dedicated train called "Malpensa Express". It is also connected to Linate Airport by a scheduled bus service.
  • Linate airport (LIN)[5] is the closest airport to Milan’s city centre and is well served by domestic and short-haul international carriers. It has easy access to the local highway network and is connected to Malpensa Airport by a scheduled bus service.
  • Orio al Serio (BGY) [6] (Phone number: +39035326323) is located nearer to Bergamo and serves the low-cost traffic of Milan.

To the south is Cristoforo Colombo Airport (GOA)[7] in Genoa which is served by domestic and short-haul international carriers.

Another option is Le Valdigi airport (CUF) [8] in Cuneo, but it has a very limited number of flights and very few connections other than private car.

By train

By car

Tours and Getting around Piedmont

Although some local bus and train service exists, the best way to tour the Piedmont is by car, especially for tourists who want to venture outside Turin and a few other large cities.

Piedmont tourist attractions and sightseeing

  • Mole Antonelliana. A spectacular building in Turin originally built as a synagogue but now housing the National Cinema Museum. 
  • Museo Egizio. In Turin, the second most important Egyptian museum in the world, second only to the one in Cairo. 

Piedmont city tours

Ski areas

There are a number of well known ski resorts in Piedmont Alpine region

Resorts

The Milky Way ski area is one of the biggest areas in Europe and encompasses the following resorts.

  • Sestriere -location of the Winter Olympics
  • Sauze D'Oulx
  • Claviere

Bardonecchia is another large ski area and was host to the 2006 Winter Olympic snowboarding events.

Piedmont Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

If you can, try the Bollito Misto and Fritto Misto. These are two very traditional dishes and you may only be able to find them in old restaurants far from the tourist circuit. The Bollito Misto is a mix of beef and pork meat boiled with vegetables and eaten with a variety of sauces. The Fritto Misto is a mixture of fried meats and vegetables. Another very typical meal is Bagna Cauda: it consists of a hot garlic sauce eaten with raw vegetables. Try also the "Paniscia vercellese" a typical dish from Vercelli made with rice, beans and susages. You can eat also fried frogs and good fishes from lake and rivers.

These are typical restaurants in Torino province:

  • Il Frutto Permesso [9]
  • Locanda Belfiore [10]

Piedmont nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Piedmont is well known for its great wines, particularly Barolo and Barbaresco but also Dolcetto, Arneis, Freisa, Gavi and others. Most vineyards are on the Langhe hills around Asti, Alessandria and Alba, but the passion for strong red wines has spread among the entire territory.

Piedmont cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

  • Palazzo Paleologi, Via Bobba 1 - 15040 Lu, ☎ +39 013 1741507(info@palazzopaleologi.com, fax: +39 013 1741507), [11]. In the rooms of Palazzo Paleologi, you'll find a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, the ideal place for a relaxing vaction and to experience the real Italy. 

Stay safe

Piedmont is generally a very safe place.

Get out

Destinations in Piedmont:

This page was last edited by Stefan Ertmann. Based on work by G.R., Timo Laine, Brad Humphreys and David Gagie, Wikitravel user(s) Wikibob, Chalice, Episteme and Texugo, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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