Piedmont

Pietro nel mondo

Alessandria Asti Biella Cuneo Novara Turin Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Vercelli

In this land nature has a very respectable place. There are postcard landscapes everywhere: from the mountains of the Western Alps to the Gran Paradiso up to the splendid views of Monte Rosa; on the hills with the wonderful vineyards of Monferrato and Langhe. on the plains with the rice fields flooded at sunset. This is also a land rich in water with the Po River that crosses it from west to east; Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta, beautiful even if a bit too anthropized. And in addition to the fascinating Turin, an infinite number of towns and villages rich in monuments; and then Abbeys, Sanctuaries, Forts and Castles scattered everywhere. Piedmontese cuisine is mainly of land and only my stubborn obstinacy in giving up meat denies me gourmet dishes such as Brasato al Barolo. My favorite dishes are: Peppers with Bagna Cauda, Mint Risotto, Barbera Risotto, Tajarin with White Alba Truffle, Noodles with Hazelnuts, and I always end the meal with Bonèt, or where there is I enjoy Castagnaccio. Piedmont has no rivals in the world for wines, especially for reds: Barbera d’Asti, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Barolo and for desserts Brachetto d’Acqui.

Province of Alessandria

Area: 3557.94 Km² Population: 406,831 Municipalities: 187

Acqui Terme: Marble shrine called "La Bollente"

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Cereseto

Garbagna

Gavi

Castle

Historic Center

fortress

Province of Asti

Area: 1508.95 km² Population: 207,785 Municipalities: 117

Asti: Piazza San Secondo, historic center

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Piovà Massaua

Pino d'Asti

Traditional Mint Festival

Parish Church of Santa Maria della Pieve Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Castagnole delle Lanze

Count's Tower Ballad of Saint Robert

Province of Biella

Area: 912.89 km² Population: 168,707 Municipalities: 74

Candelo: Among the alleys of the ancient Ricetto

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Callabiana

Caprile

Masserano

Oratory of the Madonna d'Oropa in the Pianezze hamlet

Church of San Carlo

Historic center

Province of Cuneo

Area: 6898.19 Km² Population: 582,194 Municipalities: 247

Vinadio Castle

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Castelmagno

Historic center where Occitan is spoken

Colle di Sampeyre

Sommariva Perno

Monument at 2284 meters

Savoy Arch

Province of Novara

Area: 1340.54 Km² Population: 364,046 Municipalities: 87

Island of San Giulio

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Island of San Giulio

Ancient Well in front of the Benedictine Abbey Mater Ecclesie

Dulzago Abbey

Novara

Church of San Giulio priest built in Romanesque style in the 12th century

Dome and Bell Tower of the Basilica of San Gaudenzio, 121 meters high

Metropolitan City of Turin

Area: 6828.37 Km² Population: 2,203,353 Municipalities: 312

Turin: Grande Torino Municipal Stadium

travel stories...

Ducal Castle of Agliè

Rivara Castle

Fenestrelle Fort

I have lost count of the number of times I have visited this splendid geographical region called Canavese. Surrounded by a rural landscape with grazing cows, some intent on grazing the fresh morning grass, others lying next to their calves, lies the town of Agliè. The Ducal Castle dominates the town. In the scenic square in front I await the start of the guided tour. The imposing architectural façade is predominantly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Inside, the rooms are enormous, completely furnished. The largest is dominated by portraits of King Carlo Felice and Queen Maria Cristina; this room is connected to a smaller one where a beautiful Murano glass chandelier stands out in the center. All the rooms visited so far are decorated with stucco in nineteenth-century style; later on, they will alternate with fabulous frescoes. We then pass by a library where the peculiarity lies in the books, almost all in French, German and English, languages

currently spoken by the royals. You can visit only one floor of the

castle where the room with portraits of the Savoy dynasty, the Chinese Room, a small theater and the billiard room with

the ceiling with decorations that leave you speechless stand out. This

Savoy residence has become famous for being the location of Elisa di

Rivombrosa. I leave the Palace when it is already evening and the lights illuminate the square; in the background the baroque church of Santa Marta with its historic bell tower that tells me that the time to return has struck.

Another Sunday in Canavese towards Rivara, a charming village 35 km from Ivrea. All the restaurants in the area are full so I opt for
lunch in nearby Busano, where a hearty lunch awaits me at a
modest price; a myrtle kindly offered by the host will help
my digestion as much as the next climb to the castle. After crossing
the Viana stream I enter the town of Rivara. The visit begins
from the large Villa Ogliani Park: as soon as I pass the entrance
I embrace a very tall Californian Sequoia covering about a
fifth of its circumference; many other tree species are also
equipped with lecterns with detailed explanations. At the edge of the Park
is Villa Ogliani, a prestigious Art Nouveau building that is now
the town hall. A walk through the streets of the town and
after only ten minutes I find myself in front of the massive gray gate
with gold tips of the Rivara castle; I enter the large park with
an English lawn and decoratively trimmed shrubs.
In front of my eyes is a beautiful and enormous villa in Baroque style; not having the green pass that is essential for access to
the interior rooms, I take a peek as far as the human eye first
and then the camera can see. Behind the Villa, about ten meters away, is the medieval Castle. As I head towards the exit,
the last rays of the sun illuminate the ochre-colored facade of the
villa that Napoleon donated to one of his generals two centuries ago, but
that today, having returned to the homeland, we can all admire.

Finally after having wanted it, one Sunday I visited this fortress. After paying five euros for the ticket, which included a one-hour guided tour of Forte San Carlo. The group met in the large courtyard in front of the Palazzo del Comando which

in those days was hosting the Salone del Libro. The Fort was

built by the Italians on the ancient border between France and the

Duchy of Savoy in an anti-French key. We entered the building that

hosts the Military Correctional Institute Command; on the upper floors it housed the officers, while on the ground floor there were the cells of influential figures of the time including the Cardinal's prison.

We went down to the basement to visit the kitchens; hanging from the

ceiling there are tools where bread was kept to protect it from

rats. Once out in the courtyard we entered the Church which suffered numerous

damages during the Second World War; interesting detail the

bell tower was about a hundred meters away placed on the

walls so as not to give the enemy targets to bombard inside

the courtyard. Finally we enter an underground tunnel made up of

4000 steps, which leads after more than two kilometers to the top of

the fortress; we walk through it briefly. After the guided tour I

walk along the slope that runs along the mighty three-meter-thick

walls; from this view I can better admire the fort in its

extension; in the background the beautiful green mountains of the Val