Piedmont
Piedmont (
Italian:
Piemonte) is a
region of northwestern
Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km
2 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, and Monte Rosa. It borders with
France,
Switzerland, and the Italian regions of
Lombardy,
Liguria,
Emilia-Romagna, and the
Aosta Valley.
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.
In February 2006 Turin hosted the
XX Olympic Winter Games.
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 House 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 the springboard for
Italy's unification in
1859-
1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against the
Austrian Empire in
1820-
1821 and
1848-
1849. 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 removed 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.
Notable people from Piedmont
*
Umberto Eco - the world-renowned author.
*
Alberto Gilardino - soccer player.
*
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro - president of the republic.
*
Eiffel 65 - electronic rock group.
*
Luciana Littizzetto - comedian actress
*
Carlo Levi (
1902â€"
1975) - Painter and writer
*
Primo Levi - Writer and chemist
*
Rita Levi-Montalcini (
1909 â€" ) - Physician,
Neurobiologist, Member of the
Italian Senate, awarded
Nobel Prize for Physiology & Medicine.
*
Carlo CarrĂ - painter
*
Giovanni Migliara - painter
*
Angelo Morbelli - painter
*
Urbano Rattazzi - statesman of the Risorgimento
*
Gianni Rivera - soccer player
Other
A
"piedmont" is a foothill, and
"piedmont" has become a generic designation for foothill regions in
geography.
7.6% of the territory is
protected area, 56 different ones of which the most famous
national park is
Gran Paradiso.
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,
Grignolino and
Brachetto.
Apart from the provincial capitals, other notable cities are
Casale Monferrato,
Valenza,
Moncalieri,
Rivoli,
Ivrea,
Novi Ligure,
Tortona,
Acqui Terme,
Dronero,
Roccabruna o Rocia.
See also
*
Battle of MĂ©ribel (1793)
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)
Tourism portals
*
Map of Piedmont*
Global Geografia*
Piemondo*
Piemonte Emozioni*
Piemonte Online*
Piemonte Web*
Itinerari Piemonte*
Pictures of piedmont
