Piedmont

Piedmont (/ˈpiːdmɒnt/ PEED-mont; Italian: Piemonte, pronounced [pjeˈmonte]; Piedmontese, Occitan and Francoprovençal: Piemont, Piedmontese pronunciation: [pjeˈmʊŋt]) is a region in northwest Italy, one of the 20 regions of the country.[4] 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; it also borders Switzerland to the northeast and France to the west. It has an area of 25,402 km2 (9,808 sq mi) making it the second largest region of Italy after Sicily and a population of 4,322,805 as of 30 June 2020. The capital of Piedmont is Turin.

For other uses, see Piedmont (disambiguation).

Piedmont

Piemonte  (Italian)
Piemont  (Piedmontese)
Region of Italy
A view over Piedmont's Lake Maggiore, Mount Rosa, and Verbania
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 45°04′N 7°42′E
CountryItaly
CapitalTurin
Government
 • PresidentAlberto Cirio (FI)
Area
 • Total25,402 km2 (9,808 sq mi)
Population
 (30 June 2020)
 • Total4,322,805
 • Density170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Demonym(s)English: Piedmontese
Italian: Piemontese
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeIT-21
GDP (nominal)€137 billion (2018)[1]
GDP per capita€31,500 (2018)[2]
HDI (2018)0.888[3]
very high · 10th of 21
NUTS RegionITC1
Websitewww.regione.piemonte.it

Toponymy

The name Piedmont comes from medieval Latin Pedemontium or Pedemontis, i.e., ad pedem montium, meaning "at the foot of the mountains" (referring to the Alps), attested in documents from the end of the 12th century.[5]

Geography
Main article: Geography of Piedmont
A Montferrat landscape, with the distant Alps in the background.

Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including Monviso, where the Po rises, and Monte Rosa. It borders with France (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Switzerland (Ticino and Valais) and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Aosta Valley and for a very small part with Emilia Romagna. The geography of Piedmont is 43.3% mountainous, along with extensive areas of hills (30.3%) and plains (26.4%).

Piedmont is the second largest of Italy's 20 regions, after Sicily. It is broadly coincident with the upper part of the drainage basin of the river Po, which rises from the slopes of Monviso in the west of the region and is Italy's largest river. The Po drains the semicircle formed by the Alps and Apennines, which surround the region on three sides.


The countryside is very diverse: from the rugged peaks of the massifs of Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso to the damp rice paddies of Vercelli and Novara, from the gentle hillsides of the Langhe, Roero and Montferrat to the plains. 7.6% of the entire territory is considered protected area. There are 56 different national or regional parks; one of the most famous is the Gran Paradiso National Park, between Piedmont and the Aosta Valley.

Major towns and cities
Population rank City Name Population
(ab)		 Surface
(km2)		 Density
(ab/km2)		 Altitude
(m s.l.m.)		 Province or
metropolitan city
1 Turin 875,698 130.17 6,786 239 TO
2 Novara 104,411 103.05 1,013 162 NO
3 Alessandria 93,884 203.97 460 95 AL
4 Asti 76,424 151.82 504 123 AT
5 Moncalieri 57,060 47.63 1,197 260 TO
6 Cuneo 56,116 119.88 468 534 CN
7 Collegno 49,940 18.12 2,756 302 TO
8 Rivoli 48,819 29.52 1,653 390 TO
9 Nichelino 48,182 20.64 2,334 229 TO
10 Settimo Torinese 47,704 32.37 1,473 207 TO

Other towns of Piedmont with more than 20,000 inhabitants sorted by population :

Population rank City Name Population
(ab)		 Surface
(km2)		 Density
(ab/km2)		 Altitude
(m s.l.m.)		 Province or
metropolitan city
11 Vercelli 46,808 79.85 586 130 VC
12 Biella 44,860 46.68 961 417 BI
13 Grugliasco 37,906 13.12 2,889 293 TO
14 Chieri 36,778 54.30 677 305 TO
15 Pinerolo 35,778 50.28 711 376 TO
16 Casale Monferrato 34,565 86.32 400 116 AL
17 Venaria Reale 34,248 20.29 1,687 262 TO
18 Alba 31,419 54.01 581 172 CN
19 Verbania 30,933 36.62 844 197 VB
20 Bra 29,705 59.61 498 285 CN
21 Carmagnola 29,052 96.38 301 240 TO
22 Novi Ligure 28,257 54.22 521 199 AL
23 Tortona 27,575 99.29 278 122 AL
24 Chivasso 26,704 51.31 520 183 TO
25 Fossano 24,743 130.72 189 375 CN
26 Ivrea 23,598 30.19 781 253 TO
27 Orbassano 23,240 22.05 1,053 273 TO
28 Mondovì 22,592 87.25 258 395 CN
29 Borgomanero 21,709 32.36 670 307 NO
30 Savigliano 21,306 110.73 192 321 CN
31 Trecate 20,329 38.38 529 136 NO
32 Acqui Terme 20,054 33.30 602 156 AL

History
See also: Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia in 1856.

Piedmont was inhabited in early historic times by Celtic-Ligurian tribes such as the Taurini and the Salassi. They were later subdued by the Romans (c. 220 BC), who founded several colonies there including Augusta Taurinorum (Turin) and Eporedia (Ivrea). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was successively invaded by the Burgundians, the Ostrogoths (5th century), East Romans, Lombards (6th century), and Franks (773).

In the 9th–10th centuries there were further incursions by the Magyars, Saracens and Muslim Moors.[6] At the time Piedmont, as part of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire, was subdivided into several marches and counties.

In 1046, Otto of Savoy added Piedmont to the County of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry (now in France). Other areas remained independent, such as the powerful comuni (municipalities) of Asti and Alessandria and the marquisates of Saluzzo and Montferrat. The County of Savoy became the Duchy of Savoy 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 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. A new client republic, the Piedmontese Republic, existed between 1798 and 1799 before it was reoccupied by Austrian and Russian troops. In June 1800 a third client republic, the Subalpine Republic, was established in Piedmont. It fell under full French control in 1801 and it was annexed by France in September 1802. In the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Sardinia was restored, and furthermore received the Republic of Genoa to strengthen it as a barrier against France.

Piedmont was a springboard for Italian unification in 1859–1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against the Austrian Empire in 1820–1821[7] and 1848–1849. This process is sometimes referred to as Piedmontisation.[8] However, the efforts were later countered by the efforts of rural farmers.[9][10]

The House of Savoy became Kings of Italy, and Turin briefly became the capital of Italy. However, when the Italian capital was moved to Florence, and then to Rome, the administrative and institutional importance of Piedmont was reduced. The only recognition of Piedmont's historical role was that the crown prince of Italy was known as the Prince of Piedmont. After Italian unification, Piedmont was one of the most important regions in the first Italian industrialization.[11]

Economy

The region contains major industrial centres, the most important of which is Turin, home to the FIAT automobile works. Olivetti, once a major electronics industry whose plants were in Scarmagno and Ivrea, has now turned into a small-scale computer service company. Biella produces wool, tissues and silks. Alba is the home of Ferrero's chocolate factories and some mechanical industries. Cuneo is another industrial centre, with many international manufacturers present within its metropolitan area.

The Lingotto building in Turin, the world headquarters of Fiat.

Since 2006, the Piedmont region has benefited from the start of the Slow Food movement and Terra Madre, events that highlighted the rich agricultural and viticultural value of the Po valley and northern Italy. In the same year, the Piemonte Agency for Investments, Export and Tourism began to facilitate outside investment and promote Piedmont's industry and tourism. It was the first Italian institution to combine the activities being carried out by pre-existing local organizations to promote the territory internationally.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 137.4 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 7.8% of Italy's GDP. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity was 31,300 euros or 104% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 111% of the EU average.[12]

The unemployment rate stood at 8.2% in 2018.[13][14]

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Unemployment rate 4.1% 4.2% 5.1% 6.8% 7.5% 7.6% 9.2% 10.5% 11.3% 10.2% 9.3% 9.1% 8.2%
The campus of the Polytechnic University of Turin.

Agriculture
Rice fields between Novara and Vercelli.

Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region. The main agricultural products in Piedmont are cereals, including rice, representing more than 10% of national production, maize, grapes for wine-making, fruit and milk.[15] With more than 800,000 head of cattle in 2000, livestock production accounts for half of total agricultural production in Piedmont.

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 and Barbaresco from the Langhe near Alba, and the Moscato d'Asti and sparkling Asti from the vineyards around Asti. The city of Asti is about 55 km (34 mi) east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River and is one of the most important centres of Montferrat, one of the best known Italian wine districts in the world, declared officially on 22 June 2014 a UNESCO World Heritage site.[16] Indigenous grape varieties include Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Grignolino and Brachetto.

Tourism

Tourism in Piedmont employs 75,534 people and involves 17,367 companies operating in the hospitality and catering sector, with 1,473 hotels and other tourist accommodation. The sector generates a turnover of €2,671 million, 3.3% of the €80,196 million total estimated spending on tourism in Italy. The region is popular with both foreign visitors and those from other parts of Italy. In 2002 there were 2,651,068 total arrivals, 1,124,696 (42%) of whom were foreign. The traditional leading areas for tourism in Piedmont are the Lake District ("Piedmont's riviera"), which accounts for 32.84% of total overnight stays, and the metropolitan area of Turin, which accounts for 26.51%.[17]

In 2006, Turin hosted the XX Olympic Winter Games and in 2007 it hosted the XXIII Universiade. Alpine tourism tends to concentrate in a few highly developed stations like Alagna Valsesia and Sestriere. Around 1980, the long-distance trail Grande Traversata delle Alpi (GTA) was created to draw more attention to the variety of remote, sparsely inhabited valleys.

Within the tourism industry in Piedmont, a reference to the system of Royal Residences has to be made. First of all, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1997 and, secondly, it represents a peculiarity of the region, since such a network cannot be found elsewhere in Italy. The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy belong to the historical and cultural heritage of Piedmont and nowadays they play a central role in the tourism field.[18] In a reality in which the tourism industry is characterized by an amalgam of several players and stakeholders, the creation of a system or network like the one of the Royal Residences represents an added benefit for the whole territory as well as a competitive edge.[19] Therefore, considering that tourism is a key factor in the creation of long-lasting value and working in a cooperative and collaborative perspective is essential,[20] the network of the Royal Residences represents an example worth of notice.

Transport

There are links with neighbouring France via the Fréjus and Colle di Tenda tunnels as well as the Montgenèvre Pass. Piedmont also connects with Switzerland by the Simplon and Great St Bernard passes. It is possible to reach Switzerland via a normal road that crosses eastern Piedmont, starting from Arona and ending in Locarno, on the Swiss border. Turin International Airport has domestic and international flights.[15] The region has the longest motorway network amongst the Italian regions (about 800 km). It radiates from Turin, connecting it with the other provinces in the region, as well as with the other regions in Italy. In 2001, the number of passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants was 623 (above the national average of 575).[15]

Education
See also: University of Turin and Category:Universities in Piedmont

The economy of Piedmont is anchored on a rich history of state support for higher education, including some of the leading universities in Italy. Piedmont is home to the famous University of Turin, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the University of Eastern Piedmont and, more recently the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.[21]

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1861 2,759,000—    
1871 2,928,000+6.1%
1881 3,090,000+5.5%
1901 3,319,000+7.4%
1911 3,414,000+2.9%
1921 3,439,000+0.7%
1931 3,458,000+0.6%
1936 3,418,000−1.2%
1951 3,518,000+2.9%
1961 3,914,000+11.3%
1971 4,432,000+13.2%
1981 4,479,000+1.1%
1991 4,303,000−3.9%
2001 4,215,000−2.0%
2010 (Est.) 4,456,000+5.7%
2017 4,392,526−1.4%
Source: ISTAT 2001
31 December 2018 largest resident foreign citizens groups
Country of birthPopulation
Romania147,916
Morocco54,151
Albania40,919
China20,091
Nigeria12,638
Peru11,579
Ukraine10,435
Moldova8,945
Egypt7,889
Senegal7,626
North Macedonia6,463
Philippine6,309
India5,301
Pakistan5,084

The population density in Piedmont is lower than the national average. In 2008 it was equal to 174 inhabitants per km2, compared to a national figure of about 200. The Metropolitan City of Turin has 335 inhabitants per km2, whereas Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the least densely populated province, with 72 inhabitants per km2.[22]

The population of Piedmont followed a downward trend throughout the 1980s, a result of the natural negative balance (of some 3 to 4% per year), while the migratory balance since 1986 has again become positive because of immigration.[22] The population remained stable in the 1990s.

The Turin metro area grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s due to an increase of immigrants from southern Italy and Veneto and today it has a population of approximately two million. As of 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics (ISTAT) estimated that 310,543 foreign-born immigrants live in Piedmont, equal to 7.0% of the total regional population. Most immigrants come from Eastern Europe (mostly from Romania, Albania, and Ukraine) with smaller communities of African immigrants.

Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Piedmont

The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term and is composed by the President and the Ministers, who are currently 14, including a Vice President (Vice Presidente).[23] In the last regional election, which took place on 29–30 March 2010, Roberto Cota (Lega Nord) defeated incumbent Mercedes Bresso (Democratic Party). In 2014 Cota chose not to stand again for president and the parties composing his coalition failed to agree on a single candidate, resulting in a landslide victory for Sergio Chiamparino, a Democrat who had been Mayor of Turin from 2001 to 2011.

Administrative divisions

Piedmont is divided into eight provinces:

Province Area (km2) Population Density (inhabitants/km2)
Province of Alessandria 3,560 431,885 121.3
Province of Asti 1,504 219,292 145.8
Province of Biella 913 181,089 204.9
Province of Cuneo 6,903 592,060 85.7
Province of Novara 1,339 371,418 277.3
Metropolitan City of Turin 6,821 2,291,719 335.9
Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola 2,255 160,883 71.3
Province of Vercelli 2,088 176,121 84.3
Provinces of Piedmont.

Culture
See also: List of museums in Piedmont

Languages

As in the rest of Italy, Italian is the official national language. The main local languages are Piedmontese, Insubric (spoken in the eastern part of the region), Occitan (spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Province of Cuneo and the Metropolitan City of Turin), and Franco-Provençal (spoken by another minority in the alpine heights of the Metropolitan City of Turin), like in the Susa valley and Walser (spoken by a minority in the Province of Vercelli and Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola).

Sport
The Juventus Stadium in Turin is the home of Juventus F.C., throughout the years one of the more successful Serie A clubs.

Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics.[24]

In football, notable clubs in Piedmont include Turin-based Juventus and Torino, who have won 43 official top-flight league championships (as of the 2019-20 season) between them, more than any other city in Italy. Other smaller teams include the old "Piedmont Quadrilateral" components Novara, Alessandria, Casale, Pro Vercelli. With the pre-World War II success of Pro Vercelli and the dominance of Torino during the Grande Torino years and Juventus in more recent times, the region is the most successful in terms of championships won. Also Casale and Novese contributed with one scudetto each.

Other local teams include volleyball teams Cuneo (male) and AGIL Novara (female), basketball teams Biella Basketball and Junior Casale, ice hockey team Hockey Club Turin, and roller hockey side Amatori Vercelli, who have won three league titles, an Italian Cup and two CERS Cups.

See also

Citations
  1. "Regional gross domestic product by NUTS 2 regions - million EUR". Eurostat. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  2. "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018" (Press release). ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. rai (3 June 2015). "An aerial view of Piedmont" – via YouTube.
  5. Touring club italiano (1976). Piemonte (non compresa Torino). Touring Editore. p. 11. ISBN 978-88-365-0001-7.
  6. Daftary, Farhad. The Ismāʻı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37019-1.
  7. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=mnn
  8. Collier, p. 75.
  9. Valeria Fargion, From the Southern to the Northern Question: Territorial and Social Politics in Italy Archived 23 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, paper presented at the RC 19 conference 'Welfare state restructuring: processes and social outcomes', 2–4 September 2004, Sciences-Po Paris. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  10. Anna Bull, Regionalism in Italy Archived 10 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Europa 2(4). Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  11. Marco Meriggi, (1996). Breve Storia dell'Italia Settentrionale, dall'Ottocento a Oggi. 1st ed. Italy: Donzelli Dditore, Rome.
  12. "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
  13. "Unemployment rate by NUTS 2 regions". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  14. "Tasso di disoccupazione - livello regionale". dati.istat.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  15. "Eurostat". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  16. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato".
  17. Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  18. AA.VV. (2004). Dimore Reali e la Corona di Delizie - Palazzi, castelli e ville sabaude in Piemonte I. Torino: La Stampa. pp. 1–13.
  19. Cortese, Damiano (2018). L'azienda turistica: nuovi scenari e modelli evolutivi. Torino: Giappichelli Editore. pp. 63–77.
  20. Cortese D., Giacosa E., Cantino V. (2018). Knowledge sharing for coopetition in tourist destinations: the difficult path to the network. Springer. pp. 1–12.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. "Contact Us". www.unicri.it.
  22. "Eurostat". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  23. "Sito Ufficiale della Regione Piemonte: Giunta regionale". Regione.piemonte.it. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  24. "Turin wins 2006 Winter Olympics".

General sources
  • Collier, M. (2003). Italian Unification, 1820–71. Heinemann: Oxford. ISBN 9780435327545.
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