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| INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION:
Piedmont is a region of north-western Italy. It has an area of 25,400 km2 and a population of est. 4.3 million. Its capital is Turin.
Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps mountain range, including the Monviso, where the Po river rises. It borders with France and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta.
The region is divided into eight administrative provinces (Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Vercelli, Verbania and Torino), each named after its principal city. Other important cities include Moncalieri and Rivoli.
Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region, producing wheat, rice, maize and grapes: the region also contains major industrial centres, notably Turin, home to the FIAT automobile works.
From 1046 the counts of the House of Savoy added Piedmont to its main territory of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry (now in France). The counts were dukes of Savoy from 1416, and Duke Emanuele Filiberto removed his seat to Turin in 1563. The dukes were kings of Sardinia from 1720). Piedmont was the springboard for Italy's unification in 1859-1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against Austria in 1820-1821 and 1848-1849.
A "piedmont" (piemonte in Italian) is a foothill, and "piedmont" has become a generic deignation for foothill regions in geography.
Piedmont is one of the great winegrowing regions in Italy. More than half of its 700 km² (70,000 hectares, approximately 170,000 acres) of vineyards are registered with DOC designations. It produces wines of renowned depth such as the famed Barbera, Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the more approachable Dolcetto. |
