Piedmont

In Piedmont we really are spoiled for choice when it comes to art and architecture, history and culture, legend and tradition, and natural beauty.

When you arrive in Turin, we promise you a full immersion in history and culture as the city is the home of the Royal House of Savoy. There are numerous museums to visit, from the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Museum of Cinema) and the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile (National Automobile Museum), and also the Royal Palaces, along with prestigious contemporary art institutions. Then of course, you can enjoy the city’s rich gastronomy, great wines and chocolate, and you mustn’t miss its famous aperitifs and cocktails.

Turin is also the perfect departure point for exploring Piedmont, a great destination for those in search of a holiday that satisfies all the senses: the area’s boundless natural, artistic and architectural beauty is joined by a very rich variety of the finest foods, such as truffles, rice and chocolate, and its internationally acclaimed wines.

A place made unique by the wide variety of landscapes, ranging from mountains to lakes, from hills to plains, from art towns to historical villages, from the Savoy Residences to the Sacred Mountains and the vineyard landscapes of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato. These three vineyard areas offer some of Piedmont’s most spectacular scenery, where nature’s beauty comes together with the skilful work carried out by man over the centuries to create products of excellence, such as the area’s most prestigious wines, Barolo, Nebbiolo and Barbaresco.

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The ideal synthesis of art, history, culture and landscape, Piedmont is an area full of charm, which offers visitors endless opportunities to explore unique architectural and natural locations. Piedmont boasts four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Savoy Residences, scattered around the region, with a networks of palaces, churches, summer residences and magnificent gardens; the Sacred Mountains, astonishing places of worship built between the 16^th and 17^th centuries and perfectly incorporated into the natural environment among the hills, woods and lakes; the Vineyard Landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, which stretch in all their beauty across the hills, around ancient villages and castles perched on the hilltops; the archaeological site of Viverone/Azeglio, which is part of the prehistoric pile dwelling sites in the Alps.

The regional capital of Piedmont and first capital of Italy, Turin is now a busy centre of culture, characterised by a rich heritage of events, museums and monuments. The Museo Egizio is the second most important Egyptian Museum in the world, after that in Cairo. The Museo Nazionale del Cinema, with one of the richest cinematic heritages at international level, is housed in the Mole Antonelliana which, rising to a height of 167 metres, is the symbol of the city.

Turin and Piedmont have a strong link with art, and contemporary art in particular: the region is home to numerous museums, private foundations and art fairs – including Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Pistoletto and Artissima – where the works of great 20^th century artists interact with new trends and the latest experimentations, thanks to a cutting edge cultural offering.

The beauty of Piedmont lies in its variety. The mountains to the west, the hills to the left of the River Po, the Langhe and Monferrato districts, the lands of Barolo, Barbaresco and truffles. Then there’s the peaceful Po Plain, the wild nature of the mountain parks, along rivers and by lakes, around castles and antique residences. A real paradise for sports lovers.

Emotions and atmospheres to be experienced. This is why Piedmont has to be travelled slowly. The ideal means of travel is the bicycle. For experts capable of tackling the mountain roads travelled by the Giro d’Italia, but also for amateurs, families with children, nature lovers in general. A land of cycling legends: Fausto Coppi and Costante Girardengo were both born here.

Surrounded by breath-taking scenery and snow-covered peaks, the mountains offer a wide range of activities: all kinds of skiing, from downhill to cross-country, ski-mountaineering, ski-touring, snowboarding, bob-riding, sledding, walking with snowshoes and climbing on ice. In summer, the two national parks (Gran Paradiso and Val Grande) and the 54 regional, natural and river parks offers some of the most spectacular trekking and free climbing itineraries in Italy.

There are many proposals for those who enjoy water sports too: from canoeing to hydrospeed, from canyoning to rafting. Set amidst fabulous scenery, the region’s over 60 golf courses offer the possibility to combine sporting activity with visits to places rich in culture, art and history.

The home of motoring, Piedmont offers car and motorbike enthusiasts an unequalled motoring and landscape heritage to explore.

The region is also one of the few in Italy to have a strong link with certain historical sports, such as pallapugno (handball) and palla tamburello (tambourine ball) played between the walls of enchanting villages.

With over 370 traditional agri-food products, the food and wine sector is a leading protagonist of the new development of tourism in Piedmont. The culture of good living, the principle that inspires an offer based on quality, aimed at tourists who are increasingly demanding and attentive to details, has found in the exceptional level of characteristic Piedmontese products and in the riches of the subalpine culinary tradition a very important cornerstone and an extraordinary value to be promoted.

In the last twenty years, Piedmontese agriculture has invested in specialisation in local productions of outstanding value: from the great red wines of Piedmont (Barolo and Barbaresco above all) to the white and sparkling wines of Asti; from the “Tonda Gentile” Hazelnut of the Langa to the White Truffle of Alba.

This productive evolution has been accompanied by a significant cultural maturation of the primary sector, of catering activities and of the public. Slow Food, the international association for the promotion of the culture of local food and wine was born in Bra. The association has 70,000 members in more than 50 countries and its showcase is the Salone del Gusto, held every two years in Turin.

Piedmont’s food and wine tradition enjoys international acclaim, so much so that the region always occupies one of the top spots in the restaurant rankings and sector guides. This success is due to the skill of the chefs, masters in blending the flavours of tradition with those of new cuisine, but also to the certified quality of Piedmontese products. Piedmont’s supremacy in terms of food and wine is also a matter of advanced education: Pollenzo Castle is home to the Wine Bank and the first University of Gastronomic Sciences.