Piedmont
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[edit] Piedmont
Protagonist of the Italian history of the last centuries, Torino was proclaimed as tha first capital of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, Piemonte possess a wonderful cultural and artistic property, but also given beautiful landscapes and nature: from its high peaks, perfect for the winter sport, passing for sweet hills, arrives at the spacious plain alluvionale of the liver Po, that in this region has its source:the beauty of these places and National parks the region brags large industries and an intensive development of the agriculture, forests of nuts, Rice fields and well-known wines which are produced as excellent qualities and international prestige. It borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria and Aosta Valley. The percentage of the territory which is a protected area is 7.6%. There are 56 different national parks.
[edit] Provinces
[edit] Cities
- Asti - center of Piedmont wine area
- Biella - a small town with a strong tradition in wool and clothes production
[edit] Other destinations
- Alba - a nice small town famous for its truffle fair
- Bra
- Langhe - a countryside area well known for wines and landscape
- Pinerolo
- Saluzzo
- Susa
[edit] Understand
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 haunting reserves) and in XVIII and XIX century buildings.
[edit] Talk
A variety of local dialects is still in use in Alps areas as well as in coutryside. Generally expect few over-30-y.o. people to fluently speak English. French is more common. Anyway in major cities you'll probably have very few communication problem since every tourism businesses have arranged solutions in occasion of Winter Olympics.
[edit] Get in
[edit] By plane
- [Turin]'s Caselle airport [1] 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.
- The nearest intercontinental hub is Malpensa (Milan's international airport), with direct connections with railways and highways networks.
- An other option is Le Valdigi [Cuneo] airport [2], but has a very limited number of flight and has very few connections other than private car.
[edit] By train
[edit] By car
- from France thru Frejus or Mont Blanc Tunnels, Ventimiglia or Tenda Pass
- from Swiss thru Sempione and other minor passes
- from the other parts of Italy by A4 [[Turin] - Trieste, A21 Turin - Piacenza or A6 Turin - Savona highways
[edit] Get around
[edit] See
[edit] Do
[edit] Ski Areas
There are a number of well known ski resorts in Piedmont Alpine region
[edit] 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
[edit] Eat
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 frogs, vegetables, fishes and meat. Another very typical meal is Bagna Cauda: it consists of a hot garlic sauce eaten with raw vegetables.
These are typical restaurants in Torino province:
[edit] Drink
Piedmont is well known for its great wines, Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Arneis, Freisa and others. Most Vineyards are in the area around Asti, Alessandria and Alba, but the passion for strong red wines has spread among the entire territory.
[edit] Stay safe
Piedmont is generally a very safe place.
