'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:
Provinces of Piedmont.
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Alessandria
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Asti
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Biella
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Cuneo
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Novara
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Turin
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Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
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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 articles: Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
Main articles: Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
Economy
Rice fields of Piemonte between Novara and Vercelli
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:
References
1. Valeria Fargion, From the Southern to the Northern Question: Territorial and Social Politics in Italy, paper presented at the RC 19 conference 'Welfare state restructuring: processes and social outcomes', 2-4 September 2004, Sciences-Po Paris, accessed 7 January 2007
2. Anna Bull, Regionalism in Italy, ''Europa'' 2(4), accessed 7 January 2007
See also
★ The
XX Olympic Winter Games
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Kingdom of Sardinia
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Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800)
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Battle of Novara (1849)
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Gianduja
Image gallery
External links
Government agencies
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Piemonte Region: Official Site
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Consiglio Regionale
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ARPA Piemonte (environmental protection agency)
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Ufficio Scolastico Regionale (school district)
Specialty sites
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Giornale del Piemonte (daily newspaper)
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Piemonte Magazine
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La Lingua Piemontese (Piedmontese language)
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Nòste Rèis (Piedmontese cultural association)
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Confindustria (manufacturers association)
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Cucina Piemonte.Net (Piemontese cuisine)
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TempoItalia (weather forecasts)
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Piemontesi Nel Mondo of Northern California
Tourism portals
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Map of Piedmont
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Global Geografia
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Piemondo
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Piemonte Emozioni
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Piemonte Web
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Itinerari Piemonte
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ChefMoz Restaurant Guide
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Official English website for European Sacred Mounts
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Piedmont Picture Gallery
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Photos
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Piedmont Wine, Truffle and Food Festival Photo Pages
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