In the region of Piedmont, known as Piemonte in Italian, located in northwestern Italy

 From the snow-covered alpine peaks to the heavily forested foothills, the Piedmont region of Italy, a Region of Wonders, offers breathtaking natural beauty and a wealth of cultural experiences.

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(in northwest Italy) Dominated by the Alps and riven by deep valleys, Piedmont -- meaning "at the foot of the mountains" -- is renowned for its fine wines and as a champion of the Slow Food movement. located in northwest Italy, is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the northwest. Piedmont also borders Switzerland to the north and France to the west. The second-largest region of Italy (after Sicily), the capital of Piedmont is Turin, which was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1865.

+ To the south, west, and north Piedmont is surrounded by the vast arc of the Ligurian Apennines and the Maritime, Cottian, Graian, and Pennine Alps. The core of Piedmont is the Po River valley, which lies open to the east and consists of some of the best farmlands in Italy. South of the Po River are the low and intensively cultivated hills of Monferrato and of Langhe. In the foothills of the Alps are Lakes Maggiore and Orta. The Po and its tributaries, the Dora Baltea, Dora Riparia, Sesia, Tanaro, and Scrivia, provide the area with ample water for agriculture.

+ In Roman times Piedmont was important because its passes connected Italy with the transalpine provinces of Gaul. After periods of Lombard and Frankish rule,the house of Savoy emerged as the most important feudatory of northwestern Italy. This dynasty first became powerful as successor to the marquesses of Ivrea and of Turin, but after 1400 Savoy’s control of both slopes of the Alps, ruling over what is now French Savoie and over Piedmont, gave it undisputed sovereignty over much of the region. After 1700 most of Piedmont passed under Savoyard domination, and the addition of Sardinia and its territories provided still wider interests. During the Risorgimento (movement for Italian independence), Piedmont led the attempts of 1848, 1859, and 1866 to unite all of Italy, and Victor Emmanuel II, originally king of Piedmont and Sardinia, became modern Italy’s first king in 1861.

+ The Alpine arc of Piedmont plays a vital part in the power production of the region and of northern Italy as a whole; the region’s hydroelectric plants supply energy for industry, transportation, and domestic use. The forests provide lumber, and the Alpine and sub-Alpine meadows afford excellent pasture for cattle as the base of a prosperous dairy industry. The lowlands produce wheat and rice, vegetables and fruit, and milk and cheese. The hills south of the Po River are noted for the production of some of Italy’s highest-quality wines, both of the sparkling and Barbera varieties. (The historic vineyard landscape of Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014.)