Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region, producing wheat, rice, maize, and wine grapes. 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 wines of renowned depth such as the famed Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco and Moscato, as well as lesser known varieties such as Dolcetto, Freisa, Nebbiolo, Grignolino and Brachetto. The region contains major industrial centres, notably Turin, home to the FIAT automobile works. Biella produces tissues and silks. Cuneo is the house of Ferrero's chocolate factories and important mechanical industries, able in the past to build the trailer for the Space Shuttle Columbia. The tertiary also is flourishing: one of Italy's major banking and insurance groups, Sanpaolo IMI, is based in Turin. In February 2006 Turin hosted the XX Olympic Winter Games and in 2007 the Universiades, Olympic games for university students.

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  THE TOWN OF SALUZZO

Saluzzo is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont region, Italy.

The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are found in the surrounding mountains.

Saluzzo was a civitas (tribal city state) of the Vagienni, or mountain Ligures, and later of the Salluvii. This district was brought under Roman control by the Consul Marcus Fulvius.

In the Carlovingian age it became the residence of a count; later, having passed to the Marquesses of Susa, Manfredo I, son of Marquess Bonifacio del Vasto, on the division of that principality became Marquess of Saluzzo; this family held the marquisate of Saluzzo from 1142 to 1548. The marquisate embraced the territory lying between the Alps, the Po and the Stura, and was extended on several occasions. In the Middle Ages it had a chequered existence, often being in conflict with powerful neighbours, chiefly the Counts (later Dukes) of Savoy. After Manfredo II's death, his widow had to accept a series of tributes, which were to be later the base of the House of Savoy's claims over the increasingly feebler marquises' territories. Tommaso III, a vassal of France, wrote the romance Le chevalier errant ('the knight-errant').

Ludovico I (1416-75) started the Golden Age of the city and imposed himself as a mediator between the neighbouring powers. Ludovico II constructed a tunnel, no longer in use, through the Monviso, a remarkable work for the time. With the help of the French he resisted a vigorous siege by the Duke of Savoy in 1486, but in 1487 yielded and retired to France where he wrote L'art de la chevalerie sous Vegèce ("The art of chivalry under Vegetius", 1488), a treatise on good government, and other works on military affairs. He was a patron of clerics and authors. In 1490 Ludovico regained power, but after his deaths his sons struggled longly for the rule and impoverished the state.

After long struggles for independence, the marquisate was occupied (1548) by the French, as a fief of the Crown of France - with the name of Saluces - and remained part of that kingdom until it was ceded to Savoy in 1601. In 1588 Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy took possession of the city. Thenceforward Saluzzo shared the destinies of Piedmont, with which it formed "one of the keys of the house" of Italy.

The area is also the setting of Chaucer's Clerk's Tale in The Canterbury Tales.

Sestriere (French: Sestrières) is an alpine village in Italy, a comune (municipality) of the Province of Turin. It is 17 km (11 miles) from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin.

It regularly hosts Alpine Ski World Cup events, and it hosted the World Championships in 1997; it was a main venue during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and the 2006 Winter Paralympics, hosting all the men's alpine skiing competitions and being the site of one of the three Olympic Villages.

In summer it is possible to play golf on Europe's highest 18-hole course.

It is also a famous starting and arrival point in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia.

The two hotel towers, one of which was part of the Olympic Village, were built in the 1930s by FIAT's founder Giovanni Agnelli, and have become the symbol of the village; these were the first buildings of the village.

The Langhe is a hilly area to the south and west of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy.

It is famous for its wines and for its truffles—particularly the white truffles of Alba. The countryside as it was in the first half of the 20th century features prominently in the writings of Cesare Pavese, who was born here, in Santo Stefano Belbo.

The famous Langhe (Langa in its Italian spelling) wine growing region of Piemonte lies to the south of its capital Alba. It is characterized by rolling hills, vineyards and winding roads which deliver breath taking scenery around every corner. The Langhe area of Piemonte is becoming a popular location for holiday homes and accordingly the prices of property for sale are now increasing.

Tourists world wide come here to follow the “wine trail” through the typical areas of Dolcetto d’Alba,Barbera d’Alba and Nebbiolo d’Alba. The Langa is also home to the truffle festival held in Alba during October. Each year for about a month and a half Alba is transformed and becomes the world market for truffles .Piazza Bianca hosts up to forty different stands all trading in this sought after commodity.

Barolo known throughout the world for its wine is 15 Km's from Alba. Both Barolo and nearby Grinzane Cavour both host regional wine cellars.

Serralunga has a beautiful castle while Monforte and La Morra will entertain you with their panoramic landscapes and famous restaurants. The countless rows of vines are the home to bunches of black Nebbiolo grapes with are used in the production of Barolo wine.

To the east of Alba along the right bank of the River Tanaro one finds Barbaresco, home to Barbaresco wine again made from the Nebbiolo grape. This area includes the two towns of Treiso and Neive which is known as the town of four wines: Barbaresco, Dolcetto,Barbera and Moscato.

Alta Langa.(Upper Langhe).

Ascending the hills south of Alba one notices a drastic change in scenery with the vineyards being replaced by hazelnuts, woods and meadows. Here scattered are many traditional stone houses (rustico) some beautifully restored in sympathy with the area and others left to deteriorate waiting for a new owner to restore them to their former glory.

Villages in the Upper Langhe or Alta Langa worth visiting include Bergolo , Perletto, Monesiglio,  Prunetto and Saliceto.

Below is a List of the most significant villages and towns in the Langhe area of Piemonte. Updates on theses towns will follow soon.

Alba - Barbaresco - Neive -Treiso -Neviglie -Mango -Camo -Castiglione Tinella - Cossano Belbo - Santo Stefano Belbo - Narzole-Cherasco - Verduno-Roddi - Grinzane Cavour - Castiglione Falletto - Serralunga - D'Alba-Novello - Barolo - La Morra- Diano D'Alba - Montelupo - Lequio Berria - Borgomale - Benevello - Rodello - Monforte - Roddino - Cissone - Albaretto Torre - Sinio - Dogliani - Somano - Belvedere Langhe - Clavesana - Cerretto Langhe - Cravanzana - Torre Bormida - Bergolo - Cortemilia - Bossolasco - Mombarcaro - Neilla Belbo - San Benedetto Belbo - Monesiglio - Prunetto - Levice - Marsaglia - Pezzolo Valle Uzzone

Viticulture

DOC and DOCG wines produced in this area include:

• Arneis
• Barbera
• Barolo
• Barbaresco
• Dolcetto d'Alba
• Dolcetto di Dogliani
• Dolcetto delle Langhe Monregalesi
• Dolcetto delle Langhe Monregalesi superiore
• Langhe Arneis
• Langhe Chardonnay
• Langhe Chardonnay Vigna
• Langhe Dolcetto
• Langhe Favorita
• Langhe Favorita Vigna
• Langhe Freisa
• Langhe Freisa Vigna
• Langhe Nebbiolo
• Langhe bianco
• Langhe rosso
• Nebbiolo

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa.   

Liguria borders France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. It lies on the Ligurian Sea, a part of the Tyrrhenian Sea (northern Mediterranean Sea). The coastal strip forms the Italian Riviera; further inland are the Ligurian Alps, on the west, and the Ligurian Apennines on the east. It is noticeable that, despite the high population density, woods cover half of the total area. The Ligurian coast enjoys a typical mediterranean climate, compared to the semi-continental climate of the Po valley to the north; in January, Genoa records an average temperature of about 8-10°C, with no frost, which can occur only in the mountainous interior. Summer averages about 25-30°C. Rainfall can be very abundant at times; mountains very close to the coast create an orographic effect, so Genoa can see up to 2000 mm of rain in a year; other areas instead show the normal values of the Mediterranean area (500-800 mm).

Liguria is divided into four provinces:

• Genoa (Genova)
• Imperia
• La Spezia
• Savona