Piedmont between wilderness, culture and wine

A Piedmont for a variety of travel interests

Piedmont combines protected nature, historic places, wine landscapes and diverse trails. Protected areas cover around 200,000 hectares and account for approximately 8 percent of the entire region. This means you will find opportunities here for nature and trekking experiences as well as cultural and culinary trips.

National parks and alpine landscapes

Gran Paradiso National Park is one of Piedmont’s national parks and was established in 1922. Val Grande National Park was established in 1992 and preserves the largest contiguous wilderness area in the Alps and in Italy; it is a destination for nature lovers and trekking. In the Alta Valsesia and Alta Val Strona Nature Park, typical alpine flora, mighty glaciers, extensive coniferous forests, ibex, chamois, roe deer and eagles come together.

Near Alagna, the glacier educational trail lies opposite the Monte Rosa glacier. The route takes around two hours and uses information boards to explain the history of the glaciers in this area. The Walser people provide another cultural link: this old people of Germanic origin from neighbouring Switzerland settled in Macugnaga and the upper Valsesia in the 13th century and had a major influence on the culture and appearance of these areas.

Residences, museums and pilgrimage routes

The Royal Residences of Turin and Piedmont have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 and form an accessible cultural, historical, architectural and scenic circuit. The Sacri Monti remain places of Christian pilgrimage, prayer and reflection. The Piedmontese section of the Devoto Cammino dei Sacri Monti begins at Sacro Monte Calvario di Domodossola and leads via Varallo, Oropa, Belmonte, Crea, Orta and Ghiffa.

In Turin, the Museo Egizio is the world’s oldest museum dedicated to Egyptian civilisation. At the same time, it offers a journey through more than 4,000 years of history, art and archaeology.

Wine landscapes and regional specialities

The wine landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato comprises cultivated slopes with hilltop villages, castles, Romanesque churches, farmsteads, Infernot cellars and wine stores. The UNESCO wine landscape is divided into five distinct wine-growing areas and preserves wine-growing and winemaking traditions with a long history. Infernot are old cellars hand-carved into the tuff rock in Monferrato.

Between Nizza Monferrato and Canelli, you can discover the regional specialities for which these places are known: Barbera and Asti Spumante respectively. A wine-road circuit in the Province of Turin provides access to 25 DOC wines made from 11 characteristic grape varieties. Tastings take place at numerous wineries and agricultural estates as well as at the two Regional Enoteche in Roppolo and Caluso.

Routes for active exploration

La Mandria can be explored on foot, by bicycle, on horseback or by carriage. Among forests, pastures, agricultural land, farmsteads, protected historic buildings and a medieval Ricetto, you can observe deer, wild boar, fallow deer, hares and badgers. The approximately 124-kilometre Bar2Bar loop leads through a large part of the Langhe Roero area, along little-used roads and gravel roads, through forests and over farm tracks.

Two cycle routes of different lengths can also help with orientation: one covers approximately 95 kilometres, begins in Carema and runs via Ivrea, Santhià and Vercelli towards Vinzaglio. A route of approximately 446 kilometres begins in Dormelletto in the Novara area, touches the mountain regions via Biella and Ivrea and follows the access routes to the Piedmontese valleys.

Regional points of interest

If you would like to broaden your trip further, direct routes lead to Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Turin, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Vercelli, Cuneo and Novara.