Italian & Overseas Property Specialists

Alessandria

Alessandria can be found between Tanaro and the Bormida Rivers, 90km southeast of Turin. There are many popular, superb artefacts here steeped in history; including the cathedral, the Romanesque-Gothic church of Santa Maria di Castello and the 15th-century episcopal palace.

There are many other palaces of the 15th-19th centuries, as well as the town hall and the civic museum and picture gallery. This is a region known for its hat making, however has recently diversified into wine making which is becoming something of a local delight for visitors offering the succulent samples of a plethora of flavours to tickle your taste-buds.

Asti

Asti can be found about 55 kilometres north west of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River, to the south west Cuneo can be found, to the east Alessandria and to the south Savona. Asti is famous for its wines, of course the most well recognised would be Barbera d'Asti which is loved in the UK and internationally.

There are a plethora of activities to here to ensure you will not bored during your stay here and just some of the most well known, loved and visited would be the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta constructed in the 13th Century which shows a fine example of Romanesque-Gothic style work, the monumental belfry which is steeped in history of this wonderful city and altarpieces by Gandolfino d'Asti ,the Collegiata di San Secondo next to the Palazzo Civico, Santa Maria Nuova constructed in the 11th Century, San Martino, the Baroque church of St. Catherine, the Baptistery of St. Peter constructed in the 12th century and the Archaeological Museum which shows some amazing examples of Roman and Egyptian work.

This is a city that has retained its medieval appearance and today still gets its main source of income from agriculture including meats, vegetables, cheeses, confectionery and of course wines. One of the many culinary delights to sample here is a local goat cheese called robiola which is served with a unique mustard sauce, often with truffle stuffed Salami. As a dessert the recommendation would of course be to sample one of the locally produced and loved sweets such as Amaretti or hazelnut cake.

Biella

Biella can be found 80km north-east of Turin and roughly 80km north-west of Milan lying at the bottom of the Alps. This is a province with unbelievable natural beauty and a vast array of tourist attractions including the Burcina Natural Reserve and the Sanctuary of Oropa where religious pilgrims make their way to each year. There are some wonderful artefacts here to feast your eyes on including the Lombard Romanesque Baptistry and the church of Santo Stefano.

The main source of income in this lovely province comes from wool processing and the textile centre, during the 17th & 18th century silk was the largest industry here and in 1835 the launch of looms that were mechanical ensured Biella was ahead of the game. Here you have a fascinating plethora of things to do and see for those who prefer the great outdoors including hiking, golf, mountain biking, fishing, the Natural Reserve of la Bessa, the medieval burgh of Ricetto in Candelo and the church of S. Secondo.

Cuneo

Cuneo can be found at the bottom of the Maritime Alps at the confluence of the Gesso and Stura di Demonte river where it emerges from the Valle Stura. Cuneo is known at the "town of the seven sieges" and still has the the plan of a military town, which used to be dominated by huge walls, that had large squares, porticoed streets and amazing palaces of the aristocratic families. The main source of income here comes from wine, confectionery, paper, engineering and cattle which is a very important factor.

There are a superb variety of entertaining activities including the baroque cathedral of Santa Croce, designed by Francesco Gallo, Santa Maria della Pieve, a rich Baroque style, Chapel of Santa Maria del Bosco, destroyed in 1656 and rebuilt in the 19th century by Giuseppe Toselli, Chiesa di San Francesco that is in perfect condition flaunting its Gothic beauty and the Chiesa di Sant'Ambrogio. Cuneo is a province surrounded by untouched mountains standing grand amidst the picturesque backdrop and peaceful setting, offering home to some wonderful wildlife and vegetation. This is an area ripe for skiing with around 450km of ski runs to take advance of and all of which are set in diverse surroundings giving a healthy mixture of stunning photographs to be be taken.

Novara

Novara can be found between the Agogna and Terdoppio Rivers, 38km from Milan and 95km from Turin. This is a city simple steeped in years of history where every twist or turn tells a story of years gone by and offers a diverse range of things to see and do.

Why not take a visit to cathedral which was totally rebuilt in 1963 which has an old baptistery, the Church of San Gaudenzio which was also rebuilt between the years of 1577-1659 or the remains of a castle of the medieval Sforza family. The main source of income in Lovely Novara comes from rice, cotton, silk, plants, cheese and confectionery meaning these products are particularly popular here and internationally. Novara offers an abundance Piazza's (town squares) that have some fantastic restaurants offering you the opportunity to sample the finest foods and wines whilst chatting to the friendly local people who are more than happy to help tickle your taste-buds or why not visit the plethora of diverse shops giving the chance to pick up one or to local nick nacks to bring back with you all of which are excellent value for money. This is a typically neo-classical city with some utterly breathtaking sites to feast your eyes on including various palaces leading back to the 15th Century, all of which have been perfectly preserved.

Turin

Turin can is a the capital of Piedmont and one of the larger cities known for being the cultural centre in the north if Italy. This province can be found on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch.

Turin is a city absolutely superb for sight seeing, offering marvels round every corner to feast your eyes on, one of which being that the city is home to Juventus Football Club who are of the course one of the top football clubs in the world to date as well as hosting the main offices for Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. A city that caters for all ages, all tastes and all budgets, Turin has a climate quite similar to the UK however summers are often a lot hotter here hitting up to 28 degrees in July/ August.

This province can proudly boast it having been host to the 2006 Winter Olympics which attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the event and of course boasted tourism quite considerably during this period, from this it would seem that Turin has had quite a substantial increase in visitors since this ended. During your stay here there a many ancient artefacts to see and historical structures such as; the Mole Antonelliana which was actually named after the very person who constructed it; Alessandro Antonelli and is now used as National Museum of Cinema, the Roman structure of the Palatine Towers, Turin Cathedral dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the Museum concentrating on archaeology and anthropology; the Egyptian Museum of Turin,Royal Palace constructed in the 17th century and with many other extraordinary sites such as the Valentino Castle and the botanical gardens. For those who are mad about cars why not take a trip to the Automobile Museum offering so stunning examples of cars over the past decade. Besides the vast array of historical sites Turin has some marvellous shopping, quaint and extravagant restaurants, bars and cafes coupled with mountains in the backdrop for a picture perfect evening setting to enjoy with some Grappa.

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is actually only very recently one province which came into place in 1996, before this it had been part of the Province of Novara. The area covering the western shore of Verbano (or Lago Maggiore) forms the eastern part of the province; Cusio (or Lago d'Orta) and its environs form the southern part; while the north and east of the province is made up of the Ossola, a region of Alpine mountains and valleys.

The most well known of the original three provinces is Verbania (Verbano) which is home to the famous Lake Maggiore which is the second biggest lake in Italy after Lake Garda. Visitors flock here year upon year to take in the fantastic site of this huge lake, sample the local delicacies and quite simple draw in the clean healthy crisp air that surrounds it. A very mild climate year round which offers a great home to some amazing vegetables, exotic plants and also host a variety of botanical gardens. Verbano is home to some wonderful museums, galleries, churches, boutique shops and the Saturday market which entices a huge amount of visitors the Swiss offering interesting artefacts and finds.

Vercelli

Vercelli can be found on the river Sesia northwest of Novara. This province has no shortage of historical features here including the cathedral; the Romanesque-Gothic Basilica of Sant'Andrea and the churches of San Cristoforo, San Paolo, and San Francesco. It also offers its visitors a chance to visit the art gallery, museum, amphitheatre, hippodrome and an abundance of other wonderful sites including the Torre dell'Angelo in the old Piazza and Torre di Citta all of which give some fantastic photo opportunities.

The main source of income from this diverse province comes from milling, food processing, and the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, and machinery all which support this fruitful buoyant. Vercelli is actually at the very heart of the rice-growing in Europe and is in fact the largest producer of the grain. Here you will find no shortage of outstanding art to feast your eyes on and the city has some stunning examples of Romanesque, Baroque and gothic work catering for every taste-bud or art enthusiast.

There is a plethora of wonderful art and history in Piedmont, its screams to be discovered by its visitors and those who love to find the true facts of an area.

Piedmont was initially home to the Ligurian people and then the Gauls before being controlled by the expanding Roman republic. After the demise of the Empire, the area was separated up by warring lords before the slow consolidation of the region by the House of Savoy which began in the 11th century. This region suffered under the rule of Frederick Barbarossa as a member of the Lombard League in their war against the Holy Roman Emperor. By the 16th century the Savoy family had not been able to escape extinction by wars and intrigue, only to emerge as the rulers of Piedmonte. Their holdings included Sicily and then further down the line Sardinia on their way toward the Risorgimento and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy.

This is a beautiful region offering some wonderful hiking trails due to it being mostly a mountainous area so there are an abundance of outdoor activities to take advantage of here, which was also the fist region to have its very own rowing club and sports association.

Cycling is very popular here with some superb twisting routes and diverse terrain to sample either in a group with a host or why not discover this beautiful area for yourself. For those who enjoy the great outdoors there are also activities such as horse riding, rock climbing and trekking expeditions to wet your appetite.

Of course not forgetting that stunning Piedmont also benefits from having 53 different ski resorts which are visited every year by new and repeat tourism for those enjoy the more extreme sports, why not have a go at snow boarding which is also on offer a night giving you a truly magnificent insight to this region.

Piedmonts main source of income comes from Maize, Grapes for wine, cereal, fruit and livestock which is fruitful year upon year! there are many festivals here throughout the year; Alba - Truffle festival, Asti - Carnivale, Festivals of Festivals, Palio Horse Race, White truffle festival, Ivrea- An Historic carnival and the "Battle of the Oranges", Maranzana - Festa dello Spumante (Sparkling wine festival).

By Plane

Piedmont is a region that is relatively easy to get to, being host to a number of airports; Biella-Cerrione, Cuneo-Levaldigi, Novi Ligure, Torino-Aerilatia and Torino-Caselle. Torino-Caselle is serviced every day international and by internal flights meaning its very easy to get to. Levaldigi has links from Cuneo to Roma. Easyjet fly direct to Milan Malpensa airport so you can then hop on an internal flight to the airport of choice. Flights with Easyjet are relatively cheap and fly daily from London.

By Train

There are no shortage of rail links here so you can quite simply hop on one of the main links from Lyons-Torino-Milano-Venezia, Torino-Genova-Roma or Torino-Piacanza-Bologna. To find out more information on the train links click onto www.trenitalia.com/en to get the most up to date information on the links available and train times.

5-Day Forecast

Now

0°C

Thu

6°C

Fri

9°C

Sat

9°C

Sun

10°C