Piedmont

 

(pēd'mŏnt) , Ital. Piemonte, region (1991 pop. 4,302,565), 9,807 sq mi (25,400 sq km), NW Italy, bordering on France in the west and on Switzerland in the north. Turin is the capital of the region, which is one of the richest in Italy. Piedmont is divided into the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Novara, Turin, and Vercelli (named for their capitals). The mostly mountainous and hilly region has the Alps in the north and west and the Apennines in the south.

In the more elevated parts of Piedmont, forest products and fruit are produced and cattle are raised. In the fertile valley of the upper Po River wheat, corn, rice, grapes, honey, and chestnuts are grown. Piedmont has considerable industry, powered in part by well-developed hydroelectric facilities and aided by an extensive transportation network. Manufactures include motor vehicles (mainly at Turin), textiles, leather goods, aluminum, chemicals, glass, wine, and office machines. There is a substantial tourist industry, notably at Lago Maggiore in the northeast, and skiing is a popular activity. There is a university at Turin.

The area of Piedmont was incorporated by Rome in the 1st cent. B.C. It came to be known as Piedmont by the 13th cent., growing out of Turin and Ivrea, western marches of the Lombard kingdom of Italy. Created in the 10th cent., the marches passed by marriage (11th cent.) to the Savoy dynasty (see Savoy, house of). In the 12th cent. free communes were instituted in many cities, while others remained under feudal lords. Besides the counts (later dukes) of Savoy, the marquises of Saluzzo and Montferrat were powerful nobles. By the 15th cent. Savoy emerged as the chief power.

The French often entered Piedmont via the strategic Mont Cenis and Mont Genèvre passes through the Alps, either as allies or as enemies; they greatly influenced Piedmontese history and culture. Moreover, Piedmont was a major battlefield in the Italian Wars (15th–16th cent.), the wars of Louis XIV, and the French Revolutionary Wars. The dukes of Savoy, who in 1720 became kings of Sardinia, had acquired all of present-day Piedmont by 1748. From 1798 to 1814, Piedmont was held by France. After 1814, the region became the nucleus of Italian unification during the Risorgimento, and Turin was the first capital (1861–64) of the new Italian kingdom. Valle d'Aosta was part of Piedmont until 1945.

Coordinates: 44°57′35″N, 7°55′10″E

Regione Piemonte (it)

Map highlighting the location of Piedmont (en), Piemont (pie), Piemonte (it), Piémont (fr) in Italy
Capital	Turin
President	Mercedes Bresso (DS-Union)
Provinces	8
Comuni	1,206
Area	25,399 km²
- Ranked	2nd (8.4 %)
Population (2006 est.)
- Total	4,341,733
- Ranked	6th (7.4 %)
- Density	171/km²

Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km² and a population of 4.4 million. The capital is Turin, the local language (or alternatively the local dialect of the Italian language, which is the official language of the whole of Italy) is Piedmontese and Occitan is also spoken in Occitan Valleys.

Geography

Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including the Monviso (Mont Vis), where the Po rises, and the Monte Rosa. 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. One such park is the Gran Paradiso National Park (Grand Paradis).

Piedmont is divided into eight provinces:

• Alessandria
• Asti
• Biella
• Cuneo
• Novara
• Turin
• Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
• Vercelli

History

In 1046, the counts of the House of Savoy added Piedmont to their main territory of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry (now in France). The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy in 1416, and Duke Emanuele Filiberto moved the seat to Turin in 1563. In 1720, the Duke of Savoy became King of Sardinia, founding what evolved into the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and increasing Turin's importance as a European capital.

The Republic of Alba was created in 1796 as a French client republic in Piedmont before the area was annexed by France in 1801. In June 1802 a new client republic, the Subalpine Republic, was established in Piedmont and in September it was also annexed. In the congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored, and furthermore received the Republic of Genoa to strengthen it as a barrier against France.

Piedmont was an initial springboard for Italy's unification in 1859-1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against the Austrian Empire in 1820-1821 and 1848-1849. This process is sometimes referred to as Piedmontisation. However, the efforts were later contradicted by efforts of rural farmers.^[1][2] The House of Savoy became Kings of Italy, and Turin briefly became the capital of Italy. However, the addition of territory paradoxically reduced Piedmont's importance to the kingdom, and the capital was moved to Florence, and then to Rome. One remaining recognition of Piedmont's historical role was that the crown prince of Italy was known as the Prince of Piedmont.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Main article: Residences of the Royal House of Savoy

Main article: Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy

Royal Palace of Turin

Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi

Palazzo Carignano

Castello del Valentino

Sacro Monte di Crea Paradise Chapel

Sacro Monte di Ghiffa Crucifixion and Trinity, 16th century

Sacro Monte di Domodossola View of the chapels IX and XI

Sacro Monte di Varallo Chapel XXXIII. Giovanni d’Enrico, Ecce Homo, 1608-9

Economy

Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region, producing wheat, rice, maize, and wine grapes. Piedmont is one of the great winegrowing regions in Italy. More than half of its 700 km² (170,000 acres) of vineyards are registered with DOC designations. It produces wines of renowned depth such as the famed Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco and Moscato, as well as lesser known varieties such as Dolcetto, Freisa, Nebbiolo, Grignolino and Brachetto. The region contains major industrial centres, notably Turin, home to the FIAT automobile works. Biella produces tissues and silks. Cuneo is the house of Ferrero's chocolate factories and important mechanical industries, able in the past to build the trailer for the Space Shuttle Columbia. The tertiary also is flourishing: one of Italy's major banking and insurance groups, Sanpaolo IMI, is based in Turin. In February 2006 Turin hosted the XX Olympic Winter Games and in 2007 the Universiades, Olympic games for university students.

Politics

The region has a center-left local government with Mercedes Bresso as president, following the regional legislative and presidential election of 2005. However, at the April 2006 Italian national election, Piedmont gave 50.5% of its votes to the Centre-Right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi.

Demographics

The Turin metro area grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s due to an increase of immigrants from southern Italy, and today it has a population of approximately two million. As of 2006, the Italian national institute of statistics (ISTAT) estimated that 231,611 foreign-born immigrants live in Piedmont, equal to 5.3% of the total regional population.

Cities of Piedmont with a population of 50,000 or more:

Comune	Population (2006 est.)
Turin	900,608
Novara	102,817
Alessandria	91,593
Asti	73,734
Moncalieri	55,983
Cuneo	54,817
Rivoli	50,213

References

See also

• The XX Olympic Winter Games
• Kingdom of Sardinia
• Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800)
• Battle of Novara (1849)
• Gianduja

Image gallery

Acceglio	Acqui Terme	Asti	Biella
Isola San Giulio	Macugnaga	Turin	Verbania

External links

Government agencies

• Piemonte Region: Official Site
• Consiglio Regionale
• ARPA Piemonte (environmental protection agency)
• Ufficio Scolastico Regionale (school district)

Specialty sites

• Giornale del Piemonte (daily newspaper)
• Piemonte Magazine
• La Lingua Piemontese (Piedmontese language)
• Nòste Rèis (Piedmontese cultural association)
• Confindustria (manufacturers association)
• Cucina Piemonte.Net (Piemontese cuisine)
• TempoItalia (weather forecasts)
• Piemontesi Nel Mondo of Northern California

Tourism portals

• Map of Piedmont
• Global Geografia
• Piemondo
• Piemonte Emozioni
• Piemonte Web
• Itinerari Piemonte
• ChefMoz Restaurant Guide
• Official English website for European Sacred Mounts
• Piedmont Picture Gallery
• Photos
• Piedmont Wine, Truffle and Food Festival Photo Pages

Regions of Italy
Abruzzo · Aosta Valley · Apulia · Basilicata · Calabria · Campania · Emilia-Romagna · Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Lazio · Liguria · Lombardy · Marche · Molise · Piedmont · Sardinia · Sicily · Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol · Tuscany · Umbria · Veneto

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