1.
Piedmont (United States)
–
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States. It sits between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south, the Piedmont Province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division which consists of the Piedmont Upland and the Piedmont Lowlands sections. The Atlantic Seaboard fall line marks the Piedmonts eastern boundary with the Coastal Plain, to the west, it is mostly bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the easternmost range of the main Appalachians. The width of the Piedmont varies, being quite narrow above the Delaware River, the Piedmonts area is approximately 80,000 square miles. The name Piedmont comes from the French term for the physical region, literally meaning foothill, ultimately from Latin pedemontium. The region is named after the Italian region of Piedmont, the lowlands which abut the Alps, the surface relief of the Piedmont is characterized by relatively low, rolling hills with heights above sea level between 200 feet and 800 feet to 1,000 feet. Its geology is complex, with rock formations of different materials. Essentially, the Piedmont is the remnant of ancient mountain chains that have since been eroded away. Geologists have identified at least five events which have led to sediment deposition, including the Grenville orogeny. The last major event in the history of the Piedmont was the break-up of Pangaea, large basins formed from the rifting and were subsequently filled by the sediments shed from the surrounding higher ground. The series of Mesozoic basins is almost entirely located inside the Piedmont region, Piedmont soils are generally clay-like and moderately fertile. In some areas they have suffered from erosion and over-cropping, particularly in the South where cotton was historically the chief crop. In the central Piedmont region of North Carolina and Virginia, corn is the crop, while in the north region there is more diversity, including orchards, dairying. The Piedmont region is associated with the Piedmont blues, a style of blues music that originated there in the late 19th century. According to the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, most Piedmont blues musicians came from Virginia, the Carolinas, during the Great Migration, Black Americans migrated to the Piedmont. Thus, Piedmont blues was influenced by many types of such as ragtime, country. Many major cities are located on the line, the eastern boundary of the Piedmont. The fall line, where the land rises abruptly from the plain, marks the limit of navigability on many major rivers
Piedmont (United States)
–
The
James River winds its way among Piedmont hills in central
Virginia. Most of the hills in the Piedmont region are smaller than these.
Piedmont (United States)
–
Piedmont plateau region (shaded)
Piedmont (United States)
–
Piedmont Plateau, looking east from
Rocky Ridge in Maryland, c. 1898
Piedmont (United States)
–
Biogeography
2.
Region of Italy
–
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of Italy, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are 20 regions, of five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes. Each region, except for the Aosta Valley, is divided into provinces, regions are autonomous entities with powers defined in the Constitution. As the administrative districts of the state during the Kingdom of Italy. The original draft list comprised the Salento region, friuli and Venezia Giulia were separate regions, and Basilicata was named Lucania. Abruzzo and Molise were identified as regions in the first draft. They were later merged into Abruzzo e Molise in the constitution of 1948. Implementation of regional autonomy was postponed until the first Regional Elections of 1970, the ruling Christian Democracy party did not want the opposition Italian Communist Party to gain power in the regions, where it was historically rooted. Regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a reform in 2001. In June 2006 the proposals, which had been associated with Lega Nord. The results varied considerably among the regions, ranging from 55. 3% in favour in Veneto to 82% against in Calabria, number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1995, Macroregions are the first-level NUTS of the European Union. These regions, whose statutes are approved by their councils, were created in 1970. Since the constitutional reform of 2001 they have had residual legislative powers, the regions have exclusive legislative power with respect to any matters not expressly reserved to state law. Yet their financial autonomy is quite modest, they just keep 20% of all levied taxes, Article 116 of the Italian Constitution grants to five regions home rule, acknowledging their powers in relation to legislation, administration and finance. These regions became autonomous in order to take into account cultural differences, moreover, the government wanted to prevent their secession from Italy after the Second World War. Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol constitutes a special case, the region is nearly powerless, and the powers granted by the regions statute are mostly exercised by the two autonomous provinces within the region, Trentino and South Tyrol. In this case, the regional institution plays a coordinating role, the latter is directly elected by the citizens of each region, with the exceptions of Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, where he is chosen by the regional council. Under the 1995 electoral law, the winning coalition receives a majority of seats on the council
Region of Italy
–
Autonomous regions
3.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
4.
Turin
–
Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
Turin
–
From top to bottom, left to right: panorama of the
Mole Antonelliana,
Valentino Park with the medieval village, Piazza Castello with Palazzo Reale and Palazzo Madama, San Carlo Plaza with the Caval ëd Bronz, the Arco Olimpico and the Lingotto, the sarcophagus of Oki at the
Egyptian Museum, a view of the hills, the
Po, the Gran Madre, the Monte of Cappuccini and
Palatine Towers.
Turin
–
The Roman
Palatine Towers.
Turin
–
Siege of Turin
Turin
–
Turin in the 17th century.
5.
Democratic Party of Italy
–
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy. The partys acting leader is Matteo Orfini, who replaced Matteo Renzi after his resignation in February 2017, in April–May the party will hold a leadership election and Renzi is again running for secretary. The PD was founded on 14 October 2007 upon the merger of various centre-left parties which had part of The Olive Tree list. The PDs main ideological trends are thus social democracy and the Italian Christian leftist tradition, the party has been also influenced by social liberalism, which was already present in some of the founding components of the DS and DL, and more generally by a Third Way progressivism. Following the 2013 general election and the 2014 European Parliament election, the PD was the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the European Parliament. From 2013 the Italian government has been led by three successive Democratic Prime Ministers, Enrico Letta, Matteo Renzi, and Paolo Gentiloni. As of 2017, other than the government, Democrats head fourteen regional governments out of twenty and function as coalition partner in Tuscany. Former bigwigs include Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Romano Prodi, Giuliano Amato, Massimo DAlema, Pier Luigi Bersani, Francesco Rutelli, the coalition, in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party, won the 1996 general election and Prodi became Prime Minister. In February 1998 the PDS merged with minor parties to become the Democrats of the Left, while in March 2002 the PPI, RI. In the summer of 2003 Prodi suggested that the forces would participate in the 2004 European Parliament election with a common list. Whereas the Union of Democrats for Europe and the far-left parties refused, four parties accepted, the DS, DL, the Italian Democratic Socialists and the European Republicans Movement. They launched a joint list named United in the Olive Tree, the project was later abandoned in 2005 by the SDI. In the 2006 general election the list obtained 31. 3% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies, eight parties agreed to merge into the PD, Democrats of the Left Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Southern Democratic Party, Sardinia Project, European Republicans Movement, Democratic Republicans, Middle Italy, while the DL agreed to the merger with virtually no resistance, the DS experienced a more heated final congress. On 19 April 2007 approximately 75% of party members voted in support of the merger of the DS into the PD, the left-wing opposition, led by Fabio Mussi, obtained just 15% of the support within the party. A third motion, presented by Gavino Angius and supportive of the PD only within the Party of European Socialists, during and following the congress, both Mussi and Angius announced their intention not to join the PD and founded a new party called Democratic Left. On 22 May 2007 the composition of the committee of the nascent party was announced. On 18 June the committee met to decide the rules for the election of the 2,400 members of the partys constituent assembly
Democratic Party of Italy
–
Romano Prodi
Democratic Party of Italy
–
Democratic Party Partito Democratico
Democratic Party of Italy
–
Walter Veltroni
Democratic Party of Italy
–
Dario Franceschini
6.
Demonym
–
A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
Demonym
–
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has not adopted the term "demonyn" for these adjectives and nouns
7.
Italian language
–
By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
Italian language
–
Dante Alighieri (above) and
Petrarch (below) were influential in establishing their
Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of
Italy in the
Late Middle Ages
Italian language
–
The geographic distribution of the Italian language in the world: large Italian-speaking communities are shown in green; light blue indicates areas where the Italian language was used officially during the Italian colonial period.
Italian language
Italian language
–
Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage
8.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
9.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
Central European Summer Time
–
light blue
10.
First-level NUTS of the European Union
–
The Classification of Territorial Units for Statistics, is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard was developed by the European Union, there are three levels of NUTS defined, with two levels of local administrative units below. Not all countries have every level of division, depending on their size, one of the most extreme cases is Luxembourg, which has only LAUs, the three NUTS divisions each correspond to the entire country itself. Below are the first level NUTS regions of the European Union
First-level NUTS of the European Union
–
AT1
11.
Piedmontese language
–
Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 1 million people in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Gallo-Italic languages group of Northern Italy and it is part of the wider western group of Romance languages, which also includes French, Occitan, and Catalan. Today it has an official status recognized by the Piedmont regional government. Piedmontese was the first language of emigrants who, in the period from 1850 to 1950, left Piedmont for countries such as France, Brazil, The United States, Argentina, and Uruguay. The first documents in the Piedmontese language were written in the 12th century, the sermones subalpini, literary Piedmontese developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it did not gain literary esteem comparable to that of French or Italian, other languages used in Piedmont. Nevertheless, literature in Piedmontese has never ceased to be produced, it includes poetry, theatre pieces, novels, in 2004, Piedmontese was recognised as Piedmonts regional language by the regional parliament, although the Italian government has not yet recognised it as such. In theory it is now supposed to be taught to children in school, the last decade has seen the publication of learning materials for schoolchildren, as well as general-public magazines. Courses for people already outside the system have also been developed. On the other hand, the survey showed Piedmontese is still spoken by over half the population. Authoritative sources confirm this result, putting the figure between 2 million and 3 million speakers out of a population of 4.2 million people, efforts to make it one of the official languages of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics were unsuccessful. Piedmontese is written with a modified Latin alphabet, the letters, along with their IPA equivalent are shown in the table below. Certain digraphs are used to represent specific sounds as shown below. All other combinations of letters are pronounced as written, grave accent marks break diphthongs, so ua and uà are /wa/, but ùa is pronounced separately, /ˈya/. Verbal pronouns are absent only in the form and in the Piedmontese interrogative form. The bound form of pronouns, which can be connected to dative and locative particles. The existence of three affirmative interjections, si, sè, é, òj, the absence of the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, for which an alveolar S sound is usually substituted. The existence of an S-C combination pronounced, the existence of a velar nasal, which usually precedes a vowel, as in lun-a moon. The existence of the third Piedmontese vowel Ë, which is very short, the absence of the phonological contrast that exists in Italian between short and long consonants, for example, Italian fata fairy and fatta done
Piedmontese language
–
Piedmontese linguistic map
12.
Occitan language
–
Occitan, also known as lenga dòc by its native speakers, is a Romance language. It is spoken in southern France, Italys Occitan Valleys, Monaco, and Spains Val dAran, collectively, Occitan is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese. However, there is controversy about the unity of the language, others include Catalan in this family, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. In fact, Catalan was considered an Occitan dialect until the end of the 19th century, today, Occitan is an official language in Catalonia, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken in the Val dAran. Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the preferred language for use in the Val dAran. Unlike other Romance languages such as French or Spanish, there is no written standard language called Occitan. Instead, there are competing norms for writing Occitan, some of which attempt to be pan-dialectal, There are also significant lexical differences, where some dialects have words cognate with French, and others have Catalan and Spanish cognates. Nonetheless, there is a significant amount of mutual intelligibility, the long-term survival of Occitan is in grave doubt. According to the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, four of the six dialects of Occitan are considered severely endangered. The name Occitan comes from lenga dòc, òc being the Occitan word for yes and this was not, of course, the only defining characteristic of each group. The word òc came from Vulgar Latin hoc, while oïl originated from Latin hoc illud, Old Catalan, and now the Catalan of Northern Catalonia also have hoc. Other Romance languages derive their word for yes from the Latin sic, thus, etc. such as Spanish sí, Eastern Lombard sé, Sicilian and Italian sì, or Portuguese sim. French uses si to answer yes in response to questions that are asked in the negative sense, the name Occitan is sometimes considered a neologism, however, it was attested around 1300 as occitanus, a crossing of oc and aquitanus. For many centuries, the Occitan dialects were referred to as Limousin or Provençal, after Frédéric Mistrals Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition and so became the most popular term for Occitan. The term first came into fashion in Italy, currently, linguists use the terms Provençal and Limousin strictly to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, keeping the name Occitan for the language as a whole. Many non-specialists, however, continue to refer to the language as Provençal, NO·L LI TOLRÀ NO·L LI DEVEDARÀ NI NO LEN DECEBRÀ. Nec societatem non AURÀ, si per castellum recuperare NON O FA, et si recuperare potuerit in potestate Froterio et Raimundo LO TORNARÀ, carolingian litanies, both written and sung in Latin, were answered to in Old Occitan by the audience. Occitan was the vehicle for the poetry of the medieval troubadours and trobairises, At that time
Occitan language
–
Main cities of Occitania, written in the Occitan language
Occitan language
–
Occitan
Occitan language
–
"Speak French, Be Clean" written across the wall of a Southern French school
Occitan language
–
This bilingual street sign in
Toulouse, like many such signs found in historical parts of the city, is maintained primarily for its antique charm; it is typical of what little remains of the lenga d'òc in southern French cities.
13.
Arpitan language
–
Franco-Provençal, Arpitan or Romand is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland, northwestern Italy, and in enclaves in the Province of Foggia in Apulia, Italy. Franco-Provençal has several dialects and is separate from but closely related to neighboring Romance languages, Oïl languages, Occitan, Gallo-Italian. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G. I, Ascoli in the 19th century because it shared features with French and Provençal without belonging to either. Arpitan, a neologism, is becoming a name for the language. This name was popularized due to the lands where the Arpitan language is spoken or used to be the prevalent idiom, the name for the region comes from the term Arpes, meaning Alps in Arpitan. Today, the largest number of Franco-Provençal speakers reside in the Aosta Valley, the language is also spoken in alpine valleys in the province of Turin, two isolated towns in Foggia, and rural areas of the Romandie region of Switzerland. It is one of the three Gallo-Romance language families of France and is recognized as a regional language of France. Organizations are attempting to preserve it through cultural events, education, scholarly research, aside from regional French dialects, it is the most closely related language to French. The number of speakers of Franco-Provençal has been declining significantly, according to UNESCO, Franco-Provençal is a potentially endangered language in Italy and an endangered language in Switzerland and France. Franco-Provençal emerged as a Gallo-Romance variety of Latin, the linguistic region comprises east-central France, western portions of Switzerland, and the Aosta Valley of Italy with the adjacent alpine valleys of the Piedmont. This area covers territories once occupied by pre-Roman Celts, including the Allobroges, Sequani, Helvetii, Ceutrones, by the 5th century, the region was controlled by the Burgundians. Franco-Provençal is first attested in manuscripts from the 12th century, possibly diverging from the langues doïl as early as the 8th–9th centuries, one writer has detected the influence of Basque by analyzing fossil words from toponymy and the dialect in the Aosta Valley Valdôtain patois. However, Franco-Provençal is consistently typified by a strict, myopic comparison to French, and so is characterized as conservative. Thus, commentators, like Désormaux, consider medieval the terms for many nouns and verbs, including pâta rag, bayâ to give, moussâ to lie down, all of which are conservative only relative to French. As an example, Désormaux, writing on this point in the foreword of his Savoyard dialect dictionary, states, one can note it not only in phonetics and morphology, but also in the vocabulary, where one finds numerous words and directions that clearly disappeared from French. Franco-Provençal failed to garner the prestige of its three more widely spoken neighbors, French, Occitan, and Italian. Communities where speakers lived were generally mountainous and isolated from one another, the internal boundaries of the entire speech area were divided by wars and religious conflicts. France, Switzerland, the Franche-Comté, and the duchy, later kingdom, the edict explicitly replaced Latin with French as the language of law and the courts
Arpitan language
–
Graziadio Isaia Ascoli
Arpitan language
–
Map of the Franco-Provençal Language Area: Dark Blue: Protected. — Medium Blue: General regions. Light Blue: Historical transition zone.
Arpitan language
–
Title page of a Franco-Provençal dictionary from Saint-Étienne, France (1896): "The Key to the Gaga Dialect".
Arpitan language
–
Language area map with standard place names and modern political divisions.
14.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
15.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
16.
Switzerland
–
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
Switzerland
–
Founded in 44 BC by
Lucius Munatius Plancus,
Augusta Raurica was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
Switzerland
–
Flag
Switzerland
–
The 1291 Bundesbrief (Federal charter)
Switzerland
–
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colors are shown the subject territories.
17.
Medieval Latin
–
Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors, medieval Latin should not be confused with Ecclesiastical Latin. There is no consensus on the exact boundary where Late Latin ends. Medieval Latin had a vocabulary, which freely borrowed from other sources. Greek provided much of the vocabulary of Christianity. The various Germanic languages spoken by the Germanic tribes, who invaded southern Europe, were major sources of new words. Germanic leaders became the rulers of parts of the Roman Empire that they conquered, other more ordinary words were replaced by coinages from Vulgar Latin or Germanic sources because the classical words had fallen into disuse. Latin was also spread to such as Ireland and Germany. Works written in the lands, where Latin was a language with no relation to the local vernacular, also influenced the vocabulary. English words like abstract, subject, communicate, matter, probable, the high point of the development of medieval Latin as a literary language came with the Carolingian renaissance, a rebirth of learning kindled under the patronage of Charlemagne, king of the Franks. On the other hand, strictly speaking there was no form of medieval Latin. Every Latin author in the period spoke Latin as a second language, with varying degrees of fluency, and syntax, grammar. For instance, rather than following the classical Latin practice of placing the verb at the end. Unlike classical Latin, where esse was the auxiliary verb, medieval Latin writers might use habere as an auxiliary, similar to constructions in Germanic. The accusative and infinitive construction in classical Latin was often replaced by a clause introduced by quod or quia. This is almost identical, for example, to the use of que in similar constructions in French. In every age from the late 8th century onwards, there were learned writers who were familiar enough with classical syntax to be aware that these forms and usages were wrong, however the use of quod to introduce subordinate clauses was especially pervasive and is found at all levels. That resulted in two features of Medieval Latin compared with Classical Latin. First, many attempted to show off their knowledge of Classical Latin by using rare or archaic constructions
Medieval Latin
–
Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Medieval Latin manuscript
Medieval Latin
–
Europe, 1000 AD
Medieval Latin
–
An
illuminated manuscript of a
Book of Hours contains prayers in medieval Latin.
Medieval Latin
–
The
Prüfening dedicatory inscription of 1119, composed in medieval Latin.
18.
Alps
–
The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc, Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres, the altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe, in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m. Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era, a mummified man, determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991. By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established, Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800 Napoleon crossed one of the passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, in World War II, Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war. The Alpine region has a cultural identity. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, at present, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors. The English word Alps derives from the Latin Alpes, maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary that all high mountains are called Alpes by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from alp and this may be consistent with the theory that in Greek Alpes is a name of non-Indo-European origin. According to the Old English Dictionary, the Latin Alpes might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *alb hill, Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, Albania was a name for the eastern Caucasus, in modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks. An alp refers to a mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found. The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in a 800 km arc from east to west and is 200 km in width, the mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km. The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, the range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the border of Bavaria in Germany
Alps
–
Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, view from the
Savoy side
Alps
Alps
–
An "alp" refers to a high mountain pasture, often with a structure, such as this one on the south side of the Alps, where cows are taken for grazing.
Alps
–
The Alps extend in an arc from France in the south and west to Slovenia in the east, and from Monaco in the south to Germany in the north.
19.
Square kilometer
–
Square kilometre or square kilometer, symbol km2, is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. For example,3 km2 is equal to 3×2 =3,000,000 m2, topographical map grids are worked out in metres, with the grid lines being 1,000 metres apart. 1,100,000 maps are divided into squares representing 1 km2, each square on the map being one square centimetre in area, for 1,50,000 maps, the grid lines are 2 cm apart. Each square on the map is 2 cm by 2 cm, for 1,25,000 maps, the grid lines are 4 cm apart. Each square on the map is 4 cm by 4 cm, in each case, the grid lines enclose one square kilometre. The area enclosed by the walls of many European medieval cities were about one square kilometre, the approximate area of the old walled cities can often be worked out by fitting the course of the wall to a rectangle or an oval. Examples include Delft, Netherlands 52°0′54″N 4°21′34″E The walled city of Delft was approximately rectangular, the approximate length of rectangle was about 1.30 kilometres. The approximate width of the rectangle was about 0.75 kilometres, a perfect rectangle with these measurements has an area of 1. 30×0.75 =0.9 km2 Lucca 43°50′38″N 10°30′2″E The medieval city is roughly rectangular with rounded north-east and north-west corners. The maximum distance from east to west is 1.36 kilometres, the maximum distance from north to south is 0.80 kilometres. A perfect rectangle of these dimensions would be 1. 36×0.80 =1.088 km2, Brugge 51°12′39″N 3°13′28″E The medieval city of Brugge, a major centre in Flanders, was roughly oval or elliptical in shape with the longer or semi-major axis running north and south. The maximum distance from north to south is 2.53 kilometres, the maximum distance from east to west is 1.81 kilometres. A perfect ellipse of these dimensions would be 2.53 ×1.81 × =3.597 km2. Chester United Kingdom 53°12′1″N 2°52′45″W Chester is one of the smaller English cities that has a city wall. The distance from Northgate to Watergate is about 855 metres. The distance from Eastgate to Westgate is about 589 metres, a perfect rectangle of these dimensions would be × =0.504 km2. Parks come in all sizes, a few are almost exactly one kilometre in area. Here are some examples, Riverside Country Park, UK. Brierley Forest Park, rio de Los Angeles State Park, California, USA Jones County Central Park, Iowa, USA. Using the figures published by golf course architects Crafter and Mogford, assuming a 6,000 metres 18-hole course, an area of 80 hectares needs to be allocated for the course itself
Square kilometer
–
Part of an Ordnance Survey map, published 1952. The grid lines are at one kilometre intervals giving each square an area of one square kilometre. The map shows that the area of the island is about two square kilometres.
20.
Sea level
–
Mean sea level is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earths oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a low and mean high tide at a particular location. Sea levels can be affected by factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change, the term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level. Precise determination of a sea level is a difficult problem because of the many factors that affect sea level. Sea level varies quite a lot on several scales of time and this is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, wind, atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, temperature, salinity and so forth. The easiest way this may be calculated is by selecting a location and calculating the mean sea level at that point, for example, a period of 19 years of hourly level observations may be averaged and used to determine the mean sea level at some measurement point. One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land, hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, the Ordnance Datum is the sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Prior to 1921, the datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, in Hong Kong, mPD is a surveying term meaning metres above Principal Datum and refers to height of 1. 230m below the average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and it is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Elsewhere in Europe vertical elevation references are made to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001, height above mean sea level is the elevation or altitude of an object, relative to the average sea level datum. It is also used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to sea level, and in the atmospheric sciences. An alternative is to base height measurements on an ellipsoid of the entire Earth, in aviation, the ellipsoid known as World Geodetic System 84 is increasingly used to define heights, however, differences up to 100 metres exist between this ellipsoid height and mean tidal height. The alternative is to use a vertical datum such as NAVD88. When referring to geographic features such as mountains on a topographic map, the elevation of a mountain denotes the highest point or summit and is typically illustrated as a small circle on a topographic map with the AMSL height shown in metres, feet or both. In the rare case that a location is below sea level, for one such case, see Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Sea level
–
This marker indicating sea level is situated between
Jerusalem and the
Dead Sea.
Sea level
–
Sea Level sign seen on cliff (circled in red) at
Badwater Basin,
Death Valley National Park
21.
Metropolitan City of Turin
–
The Metropolitan City of Turin is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin and it replaced the Province of Turin and comprises the city of Turin and 315 other municipalities. It was first created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the Law 56/2014 and it has been officially operative since 1 January 2015. The Metropolitan City of Turin is headed by the metropolitan mayor, since 1 January 2015 Piero Fassino, as mayor of the capital city, has been the first mayor of the metropolitan city. It has an area of 6,830 km2, and a population of 2,306,676. There are 315 comuni in the metropolitan area – the most of any province or metropolitan city in Italy, the second province with the highest number of comuni is that of Cuneo, with 250. The territory consists of an area to the west and north along the border with France and with the Valle dAosta. The mountainous part is home to part of the Hautes Alpes, the highest point in the Metropolitan City of Turin is the Roc, located in the Gran Paradiso massif on the border with Valle dAosta. Several wildlife reserves are located in the province, including the Sacro Monte Natural Reserve in Belmonte, the Residences of the House of Savoy, located in Turin and several other towns in the province, as well as the Sacro Monte of Belmonte are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Metropolitan City currently has a number of rail and road work sites. Although this activity has increased as a result of the 2006 Winter Olympics, one is the Spina Centrale project which includes the doubling of a major railway crossing the city, the Turin-Milan railway locally known as Passante Ferroviario di Torino. The railroad previously ran in a trench, which will now be covered by a boulevard running from North to South of Turin, in a central position along the city. Porta Susa, on this section, will become Turins main station to substitute the terminus of Porta Nuova with a through station. Other important stations are Stura, Rebaudengo, Lingotto and Madonna di Campagna railway stations, the other major project is the construction of a subway line based on the VAL system, known as Metrotorino. The first leg of the system linked the nearby town of Collegno with Porta Susa in Turins city centre. On 4 October 2007 the line was extended to Porta Nuova and then, in March 2011, to Lingotto. A new extension of the so-called Linea 1 is expected in the near future, furthermore, an alleged Linea 2 is in the pipeline and it is supposed to cross Turin from North to South. As of 2010 also a bicycle sharing system, the ToBike, is operational, the metropolitan area is served by Turin metropolitan railway service
Metropolitan City of Turin
–
Turin metropolitan area
Metropolitan City of Turin
–
Location of the Metropolitan City of Turin
Metropolitan City of Turin
–
Metropolitan area of
Turin.
22.
Novara
–
Novara listen is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With about 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin and it is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin and from Genoa to Switzerland. Novara lies between the rivers Agogna and Terdoppio in northeastern Piedmont,50 kilometres from Milan and 95 kilometres from Turin, Novara was founded in ancient times by the Romans. Its name is formed from Nov, meaning new, and Aria, ancient Novaria, which dates to the time of the Ligures and the Celts, was a municipium and was situated on the road from Vercellae to Milan. Its position on perpendicular roads dates to the time of the Romans, after the city was destroyed in 386 by Magnus Maximus for having supported his rival Valentinian II, it was rebuilt by Theodosius I. Subsequently, it was sacked by Radagaisus and Attila, under the Lombards, Novara became a duchy, under Charles the Fat, a countship. Novara came to enjoy the rights of an imperial city. In 1110, it was conquered by Henry V and destroyed, at the end of the 12th century, it accepted the protection of Milan and became practically a dominion of the Visconti and later of the Sforza. In the Battle of Novara in 1513, Swiss mercenaries defending Novara for the Sforzas of Milan routed the French troops besieging the city and this defeat ended the French invasion of Italy in the War of the League of Cambrai. In 1706, Novara, which had long ago been promised by Filippo Maria Visconti to Amadeus VIII of Savoy, was occupied by Savoyard troops, with the Peace of Utrecht, the city, together with Milan, became part of the Habsburg Empire. After its occupation in 1734, Novara passed, in the following year, after Napoleons campaign in Italy, Novara became the capital of the Department of the Agogna, but was then reassigned to the House of Savoy in 1814. In 1821, it was the site of a battle in which regular Sardinian troops defeated the Piedmontese constitutional liberals, in the even larger Battle of Novara in 1849, the Sardinian army was defeated by the Austrian army of Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. This defeat led to the abdication of Charles Albert of Sardinia, the defeat of the Sardinians can be seen as the beginning of the Italian unification movement. A decree in 1859 created the province of Novara, which included the present-day provinces of Vercelli, Biella. The city of Novara had a population of 25,144 in 1861, industrialisation during the 20th century brought an increase in the citys population to 102,088 in 1981. The citys population has changed little in subsequent years, oscar Luigi Scalfaro, former president of Italy and Italian senator for life, was born in Novara in 1918. Novaras sights can be divided into two groupings, the citys most important sights lie within its historic centre, the area once enclosed by the city walls. However, several important sights also lie outside the line of the city walls
Novara
–
view of Novara
Novara
–
Roman walls in Novara
Novara
–
The Ossuary of Bicocca, in memory of the Battle of Novara
Novara
–
The cupola of the
Basilica of San Gaudenzio, symbol of Novara, is 121 metres (397 ft) high.
23.
Province of Novara
–
Novara is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara and it has an area of 1,339 square kilometres and a total population of 373,081. The province of Novara is home to the Denominazione di origine controllata wine of Colline Novaresi which was created in 1994 for the red, all grapes destined for DOC wine production need to be harvested to a yield no greater than 11 tonnes/ha. The red wine is a blend of at least 30% Nebbiolo, up to 40% Uva Rara, varietal styles of each of the red grape varieties can be made provided that the grape makes up at least 85% of the wine. The white wine is a made 100% from the Erbaluce grape, the finished wine must attain a minimum alcohol level of 11% in order to be labelled with the Colline Novaresi DOC designation
Province of Novara
–
Palazzo Natta, the prefecture building
Province of Novara
–
Map highlighting the location of the province of Novara in Italy
24.
Alessandria
–
Alessandria listen is a city and comune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about 90 kilometres southeast of Turin. Alessandria is also a railway hub. Alessandria stood in the territories of the marchese of Montferrat, an ally of the Emperor, with a name assumed in 1168 to honor the Emperors opponent. In 1174–75 the fortress was tested by Imperial siege and stood fast. A legend says it was saved by a peasant, Gagliaudo, he fed his cow with the last grain remaining within the city. Here he was captured, and his cow cut open to be cooked and he answered that he was forced to feed his cow with grain because there was such a lot of it, and no room to place it within the city. The Emperor, fearing that the siege would last too long, a statue of Gagliaudo can be found on the left corner of the city cathedral. Alessandria entered into conflicts with the older communes of the region. The new domination was evidenced by the construction of a new big Cittadella on the side of the river Tanaro. With Napoleons success at the Battle of Marengo, Alessandria fell to France, during this period another substantial fort was built to the north of the city containing impressive and substantial barracks which are still used as a military headquarters and stores. The remains of a fort to the south of the city have been sliced in two by a railway, a third one still remains in the middle of the same quarter. From 1814 Alessandria was Savoyard territory once more, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, during the years of the Risorgimento, Alessandria was an active center of the liberals. In a suburb, Spinetta Marengo, the Battle of Marengo is reenacted annually, Alessandria was the first capital of an Italian province to be governed by a Socialist, the clockmaker Paolo Sacco was elected mayor on July 25,1899. On end of month the city was liberated from the German occupation by the partisan resistance. On November 6,1994 the Tanaro flooded a part of the city, causing major damage. The first known Jews in Alessandria, named Abraham opened a bank in or about 1490. Of the 230 Jews living in the city in 1684,170 were members of the Vitale family, the Jewish Ghetto was established in 1724
Alessandria
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Alessandria Cathedral on the Piazza del Duomo
25.
Province of Alessandria
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The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria, with an area of 3,560 square kilometres it is the third largest province of Piedmont after those of Cuneo and Turin. To the north it borders on the Province of Vercelli and to the west on the provinces of Turin and it shares its southern border with Liguria. Its south-east corner touches the Province of Piacenza in Emilia Romagna, the province was created by the Royal Decree n. In 1935 the area of Asti was established as the separate Province of Asti, there are 190 communes in the province The Sacred Mountain of Crea is a Roman Catholic Devotional Complex in the comune of Serralunga di Crea, near Alessandria. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy and its construction was begun in 1589, around a former Sanctuary of St. Mary whose creation is traditionally attributed to Saint Eusebius of Vercelli around 350 AD. Laws and Statutes of the Carpeneto commune, 15th century, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries
Province of Alessandria
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Province of Alessandria
Province of Alessandria
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Sacro Monte di Crea Paradise Chapel
26.
Asti
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Asti listen is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed to be the capital of Monferrato. People have lived in and around what is now Asti since the Neolithic period, before their defeat in 174 BC by the Romans, tribes of Ligures, the Statielli, dominated the area and the toponym probably derives from Ast which means hill in the ancient Celtic language. In 124 BC the Romans built a castrum, or fortified camp, in 89 BC the city received the status of colonia, and in 49 BC that of municipium. Asti become an important city of the Augustan Regio IX, favoured by its position on the Tanaro river and on the Via Fulvia. Other roads connected the city to the passes for what are today Switzerland. The city was crucial during the stages of the barbarian invasions which stormed Italy during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In early 402 AD the Visigoths had invaded northern Italy and were advancing on Mediolanum which was the capital at that time. Honorius, the emperor and a resident in that city. However, just after his convoy had left Milan and crossed the River Po his escape route through the Alps was cut off by the Gothic cavalry and this forced him to take emergency refuge in the city of Hasta until more Roman troops could be assembled in Italy. The Goths placed Hasta under siege until March when General Stilicho, bringing reinforcements from the Rhine, fought, in the second half of the 6th century it was chosen as seat for one of the 36 Duchies in which the Lombards divided Italy. The territory of Asti comprised an area, stretching out to Albenga. This remained when northern Italy was conquered by the Franks in 774, in the late Carolingian age Asti was ruled directly by his bishops, who were the main landlords of the area. Most important are Audax and Bruningus, who moved the seat to the Castel Vecchio. The bishopric of Asti remained a powerful entity well into the 11th century, in the second half of the century, Bishop Otto tried to resist the aims of the powerful countess Adelaide of Susa, who damaged the city several times. During Ottos reign, a commune and the magistrates are mentioned for the first time. Asti was one of the first free communes of Italy, after a short siege, Asti was stormed and burnt. Subsequently, Asti adhered to the Lombard League against the German emperor, despite this, after the Peace of Constance, the city gained further privileges
Asti
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Panorama of Asti
Asti
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Piazza Roma in Asti.
Asti
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The cathedral of Asti.
27.
Province of Asti
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The Province of Asti is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Asti, to the northwest it borders on the province of Turin, to the southwest it borders on the province of Cuneo. To the east it borders on the province of Alessandria, while in the south it shares a short border with the Ligurian province of Savona. It has an area of 1,504.5 square kilometres, the Province of Asti was re-established on 1 April 1935 by Royal Decree No.297 of King Victor Emmanuel III. It was detached from the existing Province of Alessandria into which it had been absorbed upon the creation of that province in 1859. The Province of Asti is among the awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor for its contribution to the partisan struggle during the last two years of the Second World War. There are 118 municipalities in the province
Province of Asti
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Province of Asti's palace
Province of Asti
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A Moscato d'Asti.
28.
Moncalieri
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Moncalieri is a town and comune of approximately 58,000 inhabitants about 8 kilometres directly south of downtown Turin, in Piedmont, Italy. It is notable for its castle, built in the 12th century and enlarged in the 15th century and it is part of the World Heritage Site Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Moncalieri was founded in 1228 by some inhabitants of Testona as a refuge from the assaults from Chieri. The easy access to the Po River and the bridge that it commanded granted a certain flourishing to the city, in the 17th century it was acquired by the House of Savoy, whose members often lived in their castle here during the summer. During the unification of Italy it was the site of the famous Proclamation of Moncalieri, having maintained its tradition as a summer resort, today Moncalieri is also home to many high technology companies. The castle is one of the Savoy Residences listed as a World Heritage Site and it hosts since 1919 a prestigious carabinieri school. Close to the castle, the square of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II was in the past the major centre for the Moncalieri activities. Its cobbled pavement was built back in 1825, and a sculpture-fountain of Neptune can be found in the top part of it, for aesthetic as well as practical reasons, the Neptune fountain was several times moved back and forth. A small passage connects this square to the prestigious Real Collegio Carlo Alberto, the Gothic church of Santa Maria della Scala houses the remains of the local patron. Other churches of interest are the later San Francesco, SantEgidio, Moncalieri is devoted to Beato Bernardo, around the day dedicated to him, a historical reconstruction of his arrival in Moncalieri from Baden-Baden in 1458 is held. Libraries and Research Centers Biblioteca Europea di Cultura Victor Del Litto C. I. R. V. I, pietro Canonica sculptor and senator for life Moncalieri is twinned with, Media related to Moncalieri at Wikimedia Commons
Moncalieri
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Panorama of Moncalieri
Moncalieri
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Moncalieri castle.
29.
Cuneo
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Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the rivers Stura and Gesso. Cuneo was founded in 1198 by the population, who declared it an independent commune, freeing themselves from the authority of the bishops of Asti. In 1210 the latter occupied it, and in 1231 the Cuneesi rebelled, in 1238 they were recognized as free commune by Emperor Frederick II. Together with Alba, it was the main Angevine possession in northern Italy, in all the sieges Cuneo resisted successfully. Cuneo was conquered by France only during the Napoleonic Wars, when it was made the capital of the Stura department, after the restoration of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the unification of Italy, Cuneo became the capital of its namesake province in 1859. During World War II, from 1943 to 1945, it was one of the centres of partisan resistance against the German occupation of Italy. Villa Oldofredi Tadini, built in the 14th and 15th centuries as a watchtower and it is now a museum housing collections of the owners, the Mocchia and Oldofredi Tadini families. Villa Tornaforte, surrounded by an English-style park, civic Museum Railway Museum Churches of Santa Croce, San Giovanni Decollato and Santissima Annunziata, housing paintings by Giovan Francesco Gaggini. Panoramic funicolar that connects plateau to Gesso river, monument of Stura and Gesso in Torino Square The median way of the plateau, the commercial heart of Cuneo. Cuneo has a temperate climate, with cold winters and hot. However, it is situated more than 500 metres above sea level, which helps to make summers more bearable, the coldest, January, averages 1.7 °C. Annual precipitation is about 950 mm, distributed over 81 days, the rainfall pattern is similar to that of Turin, with two maxima—one primary and one secondary and two minima. The driest month is July,44 millimetres, snowfalls are frequent owing to high elevation and wind patterns. Cuneos specialty is Cuneesi al rhum, chocolates with a unique rum-based filling, the most famous brand is Arione, located in Piazza Galimberti. Arione, founded in 1923, has kept its traditional furniture, there is an important volleyball club, Piemonte Volley who won 1 Italian Volleyball League,3 CEV Cup,2 CEV SuperCup,4 Italian Volleyball Cup and 3 Italian Volleyball SuperCup. Associazione Calcio Cuneo 1905 who plays in the 3rd level of Italian football, many times stage of Giro dItalia. Since 1987 Cuneo has been the start and arrival point of the international race La Fausto Coppi
Cuneo
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Church of St. Francis.
30.
Province of Cuneo
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Cuneo or Coni is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, to the north it borders on the province of Turin. To the east it borders on the province of Asti, to the south it borders on the Ligurian provinces of Savona and Imperia. It is also known as the Provincia Granda, the big province, because it is the third largest province in Italy, briga Marittima and Tenda were part of this province before cession to France in 1947. Its capital is the city of Cuneo, communes of the province of Cuneo Piemonte Bole, David. Innovative policies for Alpine towns, Alpine space small local urban centres innovative pack, losing Paradise, The Water Crisis in the Mediterranean. Earth Repair, A Transatlantic History of Environmental Restoration, the Aging Population and the Competitiveness of Cities, Benefits to the Urban Economy
Province of Cuneo
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Map highlighting the location of the province of Cuneo in Italy
31.
Collegno
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Collegno is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 9 kilometres west of Turin. It occupies a plain at the end of the Val di Susa. The terminal course of the Dora Riparia flows in its territory, collegno originated as a Roman mansio 8 kilometres from Turin, known as Quintum Collegium. Ancient findings from the area are now in the Museum of Antiquities in Turin
Collegno
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The Leumann Village in Collegno.
32.
Rivoli, Piedmont
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Rivoli, is a comune established around the 1st century CE, in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, about 14 kilometres west of Turin. As of 2009, it had a population of 50,115, Rivoli borders the following municipalities, Turin, Pianezza, Caselette, Alpignano, Collegno, Rosta, Grugliasco, Villarbasse, Rivalta di Torino, Orbassano. The Romans conquered the area in 221 BC, the first findings are from the 1st and 2nd century CE, belonging to Roman sepultures. The Castle of Rivoli, a residence of the Royal House of Savoy
Rivoli, Piedmont
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Castle of Rivoli.
Rivoli, Piedmont
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View over the town from the castle in the direction of Turin
33.
Nichelino
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Nichelino is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 8 kilometres southwest of Turin. Nichelino borders the municipalities, Turin, Orbassano, Beinasco, Moncalieri, Candiolo. In 1559 Nichelino was a fief of the Ussel family, becoming a county in 1564, in the late 17th century it has some 400 inhabitants, mostly working as peasants. In 1854, when it had some 1,700 inhabitants, the population remained nearly stable until the mid-20th century, when a huge immigration flow from southern Italy had it increase from the c.15,000 of 1961 to the some 45,000 of 1971. The frazione of Stupinigi houses the famous Palazzina di Stupinigi, part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, the castle, also known as Palazzo Occelli, is also notable. Caluire-et-Cuire, France Victoria, Malta, Malta Official website www. nichelino. com/
Nichelino
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The
Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi
Nichelino
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Trinity Church of Nichelino.
34.
Vercelli
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Vercelli listen, is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, the city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river Po between Milan and Turin. It is an important centre for the cultivation of rice, and is surrounded by rice paddies, the climate is typical of the Po Valley with cold, foggy winters and oppressive heat during the summer months. Rainfall is most prevalent during the spring and autumn, thunderstorms are common in the summer, the languages spoken in Vercelli are Italian and Piedmontese, the variety of Piedmontese native to the city is called Varsleis. The worlds first university funded by public money was established in Vercelli in 1228, today it has a university of literature and philosophy as a part of the Università del Piemonte Orientale and a satellite campus of the Politecnico di Torino. The imperial magister militum Flavius Stilicho annihilated the Goths there 500 years later and it was half ruined in St. Jeromes time. After the Lombard invasion it belonged to the Duchy of Ivrea, from 885 it was under the jurisdiction of the prince-bishop, who was a Count of the Empire. It became an independent commune in 1120, and joined the first and its statutes are among the most interesting of those of the medieval republics. In 1197 they abolished the servitude of the glebe, in 1228 the University of Pavia was transferred to Vercelli, where it remained till the fourteenth century, but without gaining much prominence, only a university school of law has been maintained. In 1307, Fra Dolcino, the leader of the Dulcinian was tortured and burned at the stake, during the troubles of the 13th century it fell into the power of the Della Torre of Milan, of the Marquesses of Monferrato, who appointed Matteo I Visconti captain. The Tizzoni and Avogadri disputed the city from 1301 to 1334, the Guelphs were expelled several times, enabling the Marquess of Monferrato to take Vercelli, which voluntarily placed itself under the Viscount of Milan in 1334. In 1373, Bishop Giovanni Fieschi expelled the Visconti, but Matteo reconquered the city, in 1499 and 1553 Vercelli was captured by the French, and in 1616 and 1678 by the Spaniards. In 1704 it sustained a siege by the French, who failed to destroy the fortress. In 1821 Vercelli rose in favour of the Constitution, Vercelli is home to numerous relics of the Roman period, e. g. an amphitheatre, hippodrome, sarcophagi, and many important inscriptions, some of which are Christian. There are seven noteworthy towers in the town, most important are the Torre dell’Angelo, which rears up over the old square. Vercelli Cathedral, formerly adorned with pillars and mosaics, was erected and enlarged by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli. It was remodeled as of the century, and radically changed in the eighteenth by Count Alfieri. Like the other churches in the city, it contains paintings, especially those of Gaudenzio Ferrari, Gerolamo Giovenone and Bernardino Lanino
Vercelli
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Piazza Cavour and the Torre dell’Angelo.
Vercelli
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St. Andrew’s Basilica.
35.
Province of Vercelli
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Vercelli is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. As of 2015, it has an area of 2,081 square kilometres and it is an area known for the cultivation of rice. In 2003, the Sacred Mountain of Varallo was inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List, other historical sights include the Basilica of SantAndrea in Vercelli. There are also numerous natural sights in the Valsesia area, communes of the Province of Vercelli Official website Official web site for European Sacred Mountains
Province of Vercelli
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Rice farms in the province of Vercelli
Province of Vercelli
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Sacro Monte di Varallo. Façade of the basilica.
36.
Biella
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Biella is a town and comune in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 45,016 as of 2014. It is located about 80 kilometres northeast of Turin and about 80 kilometres west-northwest of Milan, nearby natural and notable tourist attractions include the Zegna Viewpoint, the Bielmonte Ski Resort, Burcina Natural Reserve, and the moors to the south of town. The Sanctuary of Oropa is a site of religious pilgrimages, in 2003, the Sacred Mountain of Oropa was inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List. Biella is an important wool processing and textile centre, there is a small airport in the nearby comune of Cerrione. The first inhabitants of the area were Ligurians and Celts and this has been ascertained from archaeological finds, they lived near streams and lakes, at first as fishermen and hunters, and later, herders. In the late 1950s, Bronze Age—or, according to some, Iron Age—tools and necklaces, in the 10th century the town was inhabited by Alemanni, Lombards and Franks, who built the first walls as a defense against barbarian invasions. Bishop Ugucciones castle was destroyed in a revolt in 1377 that led to the subjection of Biella, along with its dependent comuni, in the 14th and 15th centuries the Visconti family competed with Savoy for the possession of the Biella region. In 1798 Biella was once occupied by the French, and after the battle of Marengo. The Congress of Vienna returned it to Savoy, in World War II Biella was the scene of armed resistance. In 1992, the new province of Biella was formed, separating the territory from the sector of the province of Vercelli. Since 1999/2000, a worse crisis in the sector forced many local wool mills to close, since they could not compete with the prices of imported fabrics. The main one, Biella San Paolo railway station, opened in 1856, is the junction of the Biella–Novara, a second railway station, Biella Chiavazza, is in the district of Chiavazza, a short distance along the line towards Novara. Biella-Cerrione Airport in Cerrione serves Biella
Biella
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Baptistery of Biella
Biella
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The interior of the
cathedral in Biella is a masterpiece of
trompe-l'oeil.
Biella
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Sacred Mount of Oropa.
37.
Province of Biella
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The Province of Biella is a province of Italy located in Piedmont. It was created in 1992 and its capital is the city of Biella and it has an area of 913 square kilometres, and a total population of 187,249. There are 82 comuni in the province, the main comuni by population are, In 2003, the Sacred Mountain of Oropa was inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List. Official website Official web site for European Sacred Mounts
Province of Biella
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View of the
Sacro Monte
Province of Biella
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Map highlighting the location of the province of Biella in Italy
Province of Biella
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Sanctuary
Province of Biella
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La Concezione di Maria
38.
Chieri
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Chieri is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, located about 11 kilometres southeast of Turin,15 km by rail and 13 km by road. It borders the municipalities, Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torinese, Pino Torinese, Arignano, Andezeno, Pecetto Torinese, Riva presso Chieri, Cambiano, Santena. Between the Neolithic and the Iron Age, the inhabitants of this part of the Italian peninsula were the Ligures. The Ligures living in this area of the Po river plain belonged specifically to the Taurini tribe, the location of Chieri is within the Taurini tribes territory, in the belt of hills which surround Turin. The original settlement was most likely founded by them, being sited on a prominent hill and which grew to be the geographical focus of the city centre. Its original name would have been Karreum or a variant thereof e. g. Sometime around 400 BCE, Celtic tribes crossed the Alps from Gaul, Gaul this side of the Alps. It is likely sometime after 176 BCE that Cisalpine Gaul was completely subdued by Roman legions, and this was possibly under the command of Roman consul Caius Claudius Pulcrus, leading a military response to a rebellion the year before by the Ligures. It would appear the Forum and the main Temple were located in the area where the Cathedral, by the 1st Century AD, Carreum Potentia was indeed referred to as a Roman municipium, i. e. a seat of local government for the surrounding area. The city underwent conversion to Christianity sometime in the 5th century, no further historical records exist regarding Chieri until the 10th century, when it came under feudal subjection to the Bishop of Turin. The work included a strengthening of the fortifications and tower atop the hill, now incorporated into the Church of San Giorgio which occupies the hilltop and overlooks the city. In 1238 the Republic was granted the status of camera speciale by Emperor Frederick II, the city eventually passed in its entirety to the House of Savoy, when the line of Acaia died out. During this time the church of San Giorgio was also rebuilt into its current incarnation. The 16th century covered a period of succeeding plagues, epidemics, and wars, the year 1630 saw a terrible outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, which is still commemorated every 12 September with the ceremony of the Madonna delle Grazie. In 1785 Chieri became a Principality under the control of the duke of Aosta, numerous other textile factories followed in the late 19th century, with textile manufacture originating from Chieri playing a prominent role even in international textile fairs. The year 1850 saw the demolition of the old city gates and the privatisation of the city walls. The early 20th century brought the electrification of the textile industries and this is being counteracted by the establishment of a new industrial area outside the city, and also by a rediscovering and redeveloping of Chieris significant cultural and historical heritage. Today Chieri is a center for the provision of a varied portfolio of commercial, retail, financial. Its glass stained windows are the work of renowned glass artist Silvio Vigliaturo, San Giorgio, hill-top church dominating the historical centre and offering commanding views of the entire city
Chieri
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Panorama of Chieri
39.
Pinerolo
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Pinerolo is a town and comune in Piedmont, northwestern Italy,50 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary between Pinerolo and San Pietro Val di Lemina, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance was the origin of the military school that still exists today. The fortress of Fenestrelle is nearby, later Pinerolo was ruled by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina, even after the city had established itself as a municipality under the government of Thomas II of Savoy. From 1235, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which became absolute in 1243, when French troops invaded Piedmont, Pinerolo was conquered and it remained under their control until 1574. With the treaty of Cherasco it again fell to France, the 2011 Tour de France featured a stage in the area. It is around Pinerolo that revolves the economy of the waldensian valleys, several industries have their base in this area, particularly mechanical, paper making, chemical and textile industries, and also absorb manpower from the nearby centres. Moreover, Pinerolo is the center of the surrounding mountain area. The agriculture and the breeding of the livestock are conducted with advanced techniques, the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned in Pinerolo starting from 1669. The venue Pinerolo Palaghiaccio hosted curling events at the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Uruguayan football team Peñarol takes its name from the Montevideo neighbourhood of Peñarol, which in turn takes its name from this town. Gap, France, since 1963 Traunstein, Germany, since 1986 San Francisco, Argentina, since 1996 Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2005 Diocese of Pinerolo
Pinerolo
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Pinerolo
40.
Casale Monferrato
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Casale Monferrato is a town in the Piedmont region in Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about 60 km east of Turin on the bank of the Po. Beyond the river lies the vast plain of the Po valley, since it became a Roman municipium the town has been the most important center of the zone. Then the Gonzaga got hold of the town and built one of the biggest and most important citadel of Europe, thousands of inhabitants of Casale have died from mesothelioma, a fatal disease caused by the breathing of asbestos. The origins of the town are fairly obscure and it is known that the Gaulish settlement of Vardacate existed on the Po in this area, and that it became a Roman municipium. By the beginning of the 8th century, there was a town under Lombard rule. It was here that one Saint Evasius, along with 146 followers, was decapitated on the orders of the Arian Duke Attabulo, liutprand, King of the Lombards is said to have supported the construction of a church in honour of Evasius. Certainly the martyr’s cult flourished, and by 988 AD, the town had become known as Casale di Sant’Evasio. At the time of Charlemagne, the town came under the temporal and religious power of the bishops of Vercelli, from which it was freed by Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Italy. It was sacked by the troops of Vercelli, Alessandria and Milan in 1215. It fell under the power of the Marquess of Montferrat in 1292, Gian Galeazzo spent 300,000 golden florins in attempting to turn from their courses the river Mincio from the city of Mantua, but Gian Galeazzo died. In 1536 it passed to the Gonzagas of Mantua, who fortified it strongly, thereafter it was of considerable importance as a fortress. In 1745, following the defeat of the Piedmontese army at the Battle of Bassignano, Casale was occupied by the victorious French, much damage was caused to the city’s buildings, the subsequent renovation and rebuilding in the Baroque style made a substantial contribution to the urban texture. It successfully resisted the Austrians in 1849, and was strengthened in 1852, the historic centre of the town is itself centred on Piazza Mazzini, the site of the Roman forum. Locally the square is called Piazza Cavallo, a little to the east of the square is the Lombard Romanesque cathedral of SantEvasio, founded in 742, rebuilt in the early 12th century and consecrated on 7 January 1107 by Pope Paschal II. It occupies a site once was a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. It underwent restoration in 1706 and again in the 19th century, the cathedral has an asymmetric façade, including a complex narthex with two galleries connected by a tribune and closed by round arches. The interior houses the relics of Saint Evasius and, near the presbytery, work on the building ceased for some time, as a result of political instability, in the early 16th century a fine, if slightly incongruous, Renaissance portal was imposed on the late Gothic façade
Casale Monferrato
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Via Lanza
Casale Monferrato
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The fortified town from an engraving of 1745. On the left the river
Po, and to the right the star-shaped cittadella
Casale Monferrato
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Piazza Mazzini
Casale Monferrato
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The Torre Civica
41.
Alba, Piedmont
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Alba is a town and comune of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo. It is considered the capital of the UNESCO Human Heritage hilly area of Langhe, the confectionery group Ferrero is based there. Alba was the birthplace of Publius Helvius Pertinax, briefly Roman emperor in 193, after the fall of the Western Empire, the city was repeatedly sacked by Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Byzantines, Lombards, Franks, Hungarians and Saracens. In the 11th century it became a commune and was a member of the Lombard League. Montferrat and the Visconti fought over the town, later it became a possession of the Gonzaga, charles Emmanuel I of Savoy conquered it twice, while later France and Spain battled for its possession. The Treaty of Cherasco assigned Alba definitively to Savoy, during Napoleonic Wars, it was part of the Republic of Alba and of the Subalpine Republic, both French clients, before being annexed to the French Empire in 1802. It was an arrondissement center in firstly Tanaro department between 1802-1805, later in Stura one between 1805-1814 before liberation by Austrian troops and it was returned to Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814. Alba won a Gold Medal for Military Valour for the activity of its citizens in the Italian resistance movement during the course of World War II. On 10 October 1944, the town was liberated by partisans who established a Republic of Alba which for a few weeks was able to maintain its independence from the Fascist Republic of Salò, the republic lasted to 2 November 1944, when Republic of Salo retook it. It was finally liberated by French troops on 2 May 1945, of the Roman city, which had a polygonal form, parts of the fortified gate and remains of some edifices with marble and mosaics can still be seen. Other attractions include, The Palazzo Comunale and the Bishops Palace, some towers of the 14th and 15th centuries, Alba was once known as the City with hundred towers. The Romanesque Alba Cathedral of San Lorenzo, built in the 12th century and it was restructured in the 15th century, by bishop Andrea Novelli, and again in the following centuries. The current appearance is from the restoration of the 19th century. The church is known for its wood-carved chorus made in 1512 by Bernardino Fossati. The current belfry, from the 12th century, includes entirely the original bell tower, the Gothic church of San Domenico, the most artistically relevant church in town. It has a portal with a triple arch within a pointed arch. During the Napoleonic Wars it was used a stable, and was reconsecrated on 22 June 1827, the Baroque church of St. John the Baptist, housing a Madonna of the Graces by Barnaba da Modena and a Madonna with Saints by Macrino dAlba. The city museums include the F. Eusebio Municipal Museum of Archaeology, in addition to traditional agriculture, Alba is a very important center of wine
Alba, Piedmont
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View of the city of Alba
Alba, Piedmont
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The Cathedral of Alba.
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Verbania
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Verbania listen is the most populous comune and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about 91 km north-west of Milan and it had a population of 31,121 at 30 April 2009. It faces the city of Stresa lying at a distance of 3.7 km across Lake Maggiore. The present-day Verbania was created by the 1939 merger of the cities of Intra, Pallanza and Suna, since 1992 it has been the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Verbania consists of the localities, Antoliva, Bieno, Biganzolo, Cavandone, Fondotoce, Intra, Pallanza, Possaccio, Suna, Torchiedo, Trobaso. Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto is an estate with fine botanical gardens, verbania-Pallanza railway station, opened in 1905, forms part of the Milan–Domodossola railway. It is in the Fondotoce district, between Lake Mergozzo and the river Toce, just upstream from where the Toce flows into Lake Maggiore. General Emma Morano, the worlds oldest living person since 12 May 2016 Angelo Pagotto, footballer Bernhard Riemann, Official website Official Tourism Gateway Lake Maggiore Official Tourism Gateway
Verbania
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Verbania pictured from the summit of
Mottarone
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Bra, Piedmont
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Bra is a town and comune in the province of Cuneo in the northwest Italian region of Piedmont. It is situated 50 kilometres south of Turin and 50 km northeast of Cuneo in the known as Roero. Bra is also home to Cheese, an international festival organised by Slow Food which features the makers of artisanal cheeses from across the world. In 1997 the event attracted some 150,000 visitors, jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond stayed the night in Bra whilst filming Top Gear - The Perfect Road Trip. Spreitenbach, Switzerland Weil der Stadt, Germany San Sosti, Italy Corral de Bustos, Argentina
Bra, Piedmont
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Bra
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Provincia di Cuneo
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Cuneo or Coni is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, to the north it borders on the province of Turin. To the east it borders on the province of Asti, to the south it borders on the Ligurian provinces of Savona and Imperia. It is also known as the Provincia Granda, the big province, because it is the third largest province in Italy, briga Marittima and Tenda were part of this province before cession to France in 1947. Its capital is the city of Cuneo, communes of the province of Cuneo Piemonte Bole, David. Innovative policies for Alpine towns, Alpine space small local urban centres innovative pack, losing Paradise, The Water Crisis in the Mediterranean. Earth Repair, A Transatlantic History of Environmental Restoration, the Aging Population and the Competitiveness of Cities, Benefits to the Urban Economy
Provincia di Cuneo
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Map highlighting the location of the province of Cuneo in Italy
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Carmagnola
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Carmagnola is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located 29 kilometres south of Turin. The town is on the side of the Po river. The nature of the determined, as time was passing. Carmagnola borders the municipalities, Poirino, Villastellone, Carignano, Lombriasco, Ceresole Alba, Racconigi, Sommariva del Bosco. The municipality is mentioned for the first time during the 11th century, the land, originally owned by the Arduinic dynasty, passed to the Marquisate of Saluzzo, who had a castle built here. The Saluzzo dynasty soon underwent a rapid decadence ending with a French domination period which lasted 40 years, in 1588 Carmagnola became a possession of the House of Savoy, when Charles Emmanuel I besieged and conquered it. French took possession of Carmagnola a second time during the 17th century, in 1690 the city was once again occupied by the French general Catinat, but just one year later Victor Amadeus II of Savoy brought it back among Piedmontese possessions. The characteristic of both agricultural and commercial site remained important until after World War II, which caused a massive immigration, industry experienced a notable growth during the 1960s, when FIAT opened an important factory, thus attracting a growing number of immigrants from southern Italy. The rapid growth of FIAT made also possible other activities in the metallurgy, electronics, optics, chemical industry, also well-developed are the banking, financial and insurance sectors. Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, better known as Il Carmagnola - Renaissance condottiero, enrico Saroldi - sculptor Antonio Tortone - sculptor Guglielmo Diatto - 19th century founder of the Diatto industrial enterprise. Francesca Maria Rubatto - Catholic nun, founder of the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto Peppers Fair and it is held between the last week of August and the first of September, it is an eno-gastronomic fair dedicated to the most typical product of Carmagnolas agriculture. It attracts over 250,000 visitors each year, held annually in March, dedicated to agricultural commerce, it features many collateral events. Opatija, Croatia Río Tercero, Argentina Official website
Carmagnola
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A central street in Carmagnola.
Carmagnola
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Collegiata Church in Carmagnola.
Carmagnola
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The medieval Castle, the present Town Hall.
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Piedmont travel guide from Wikivoyage
"Piedmont". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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