Everything about Piedmont totally explained
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 about 4.4 million. The capital is
Turin, the local language 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,
Emilia-Romagna and
Aosta Valley. The percentage of the territory which is a
protected area is 7.6%. There are 56 different national or regional parks. One such park is the
Gran Paradiso National Park (Grand Paradis).
Piedmont is divided into eight provinces:
History
Piedmont was inhabited in early historic times by Celtic-
Ligurian tribes such as the
Taurini and the
Salassi. They were lated submitted by the
Romans (c.
220 BC), who founded here several colonies including
Augusta Taurinorum (Turin) and
Eporedia (
Ivrea). After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire, the region was repeatedly invaded by the
Burgundians, the
Goths (5th century),
Byzantines,
Lombards (6th century),
Franks (773). In the 9th-10th centuries there were further incursions by the
Magyars and
Saracens. At the time Piedmont, as part of the
Kingdom of Italy within the
Holy Roman Empire, was subdivided into several marks and counties.
In
1046,
Oddo of Savoy added Piedmont to their main territory of
Savoy, with a capital at
Chambéry (now in
France). Other areas remained independent, such as the powerful communes of
Asti and
Alessandria and the marquisates of
Saluzzo and
Montferrat. 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. 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.
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 prestigious wines as
Barolo,
Barbaresco and
Moscato d'Asti. Indigenous grape varieties include
Nebbiolo,
Barbera,
Dolcetto,
Freisa,
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:
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Image:Torino palazzo reale (v2).jpg|Royal Palace of Turin
Image:Stupinigi.jpg|Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi
Image:Torino-Palazzo Carignano-jpg.jpg|Palazzo Carignano
Image:Castello valentino - fronte.jpg|Castello del Valentino
Image:Sacro Monte di Crea. Cappella del Paradiso3.jpg|Sacro Monte di Crea
Paradise Chapel
Image:Sacro Monte di Ghiffa.JPG|Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
Crucifixion and Trinity, 16th century
Image:Cap. 9, La terza caduta. Cap. 11, La crocefissione.JPG|Sacro Monte di Domodossola
View of the chapels IX and XI
Image:Sacro Monte di Varallo Fig1.JPG|Sacro Monte di Varallo
Chapel XXXIII. Giovanni d’Enrico, Ecce Homo, 1608-9
Further Information
Get more info on 'Piedmont'.
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