Piemonte - Amordivino

Piemonte

Population: 4.291.441
Surface (Kmq): 25.399
Density (Ab/Kmq.): 169
Main city: Torino (TO), 1.731.039 inhabitants in the area, 962.507 in the city
Other towns: Alessandria (AL); Asti (AT); Biella (BI); Cuneo (CN); Novara (NO); Vercelli (VC).

From harsh peaks to the charming, romantic atmosphere of the lakes, through the hills between the Alps and the great Po valley, Piemonte has much to offer. The beautiful scenery of mountains like Monviso, Gran Paradiso or Monte Rosa, is ideal for winter skiing and summer trekking. Piemonte’s noble past is visible in the castles and sanctuaries to be found amidst the beautiful hilly landscapes, but also expressed in vineyards that have, for centuries, created a harmonious geometry and produced many wines of great prestige. The Po river has its source in Piemonte and the region is crossed by several Alpine streams flowing into the Po. Many Alpine lakes dot the region and, in the eastern part, are the larger lakes of Lago Maggiore and Lago d'Orta.

Art: In Turin and in Susa interesting traces of the Roman Age can be found. The religious Romanesque-Gothic architecture is remarkable: splendid examples are the Abbey of Vezzolano, the Sacra di San Michele, the Abbey of Staffarda, St. Antonio di Ranverso, St. Andrea in Vercelli and other churches in Saluzzo, Chieri and Ciriè. The Baroque style has greatly influenced the appearance of most Piemontese cities, especially in Turin, capital of the Dukedom of Savoy: Palazzo Carignano, Palazzo Madama, the majestic Castle of Stupinigi, the basilica of Superga, which rises on a hill near Turin are all outstanding examples.

Museums: In Turin, visitors should see the Royal Armoury, one of the richest in Europe, and the Egyptian Museum, the second most important in the world after Cairo. The Sabauda Gallery houses pictorial works of the Piemontese, Dutch and Flemish schools, as well as some valuable works of the great Tuscans, such as the Beato Angelico and the Pollaiolo.

In Vercelli there is the Borgogna Museum, which houses the works of the local Renaissance painters; in Alessandria the Civic Museum and the Pinacoteca deserve a visit. Asti’s art gallery houses both fifteenth-century and eighteenth-nineteenth century paintings. Cuneo's Civic Museum is reserved for local history and the artistic tradition. In Novara an interesting Epigraphic Museum can be seen in the fifteenth-century cloister of the Cathedral.

Outdoors: The great ski centres of Sestrières, Bardonecchia, Sansicario; the district of the Langhe and the Lakes Orta and Maggiore.