Page 217 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

NOR THWEST IT AL Y  215

VALLE D’AOSTA

AND PIEDMONT

Piedmont and the neighbouring Valle d’Aosta are –
apart from Turin and its cultural splendours – essentially
countryside. To the north lie the Alps, with ski resorts
such as Courmayeur, and the wild stretches of the Parco
Nazionale del Gran Paradiso. To the south lie the vineyard-
clad hills around Barolo, and seemingly endless fields of grain
and rice, used in the local dish, risotto.
The northwest is also rich in culture. chapels known as sacri monti (sacred
From the 11th century to the 18th, both mountains) built into the foothills of the
the verdant Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont Alps. Piedmont also spawned a school of
were part of the French-speaking painting, which is in evidence in the small
principality of Savoy and enjoyed the parish churches and excellent fine art
influences of both sides of the Alpine collections in the region. The most
divide. Even today, French and dialectal impressive architecture in the northwest,
variants are still spoken in the remote however, is undoubtedly to be found in
valleys of Piedmont and in much of the Turin, a much underrated and surprisingly
Valle d’Aosta. It was only under Duke elegant Baroque city which boasts, among
Eman uele Filiberto in the 16th century other things, one of the best Egyptian
that the region was brought definitively museums in the world. Piedmont is also
into the Italian sphere of influence; and known for its industry – Fiat in Turin,
later it was to play the key role in the Olivetti in Ivrea, Ferrero in Alba – but it
Risorgimento (see pp66–7), the ambitious has not forgotten its agricultural roots,
movement that united Italy under a king and food and drink play an important
from Piedmont. The vestiges of this history role in the life of the region: the hills of
are to be found in the medieval castles southern Piedmont produce many
of the Valle d’Aosta and the clusters of of the great Italian red wines.

Traditional pavement café in the heart of Turin
Banners hanging outside of the Gothic Duomo in Asti, Piedmont

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