Piedmont is the region in northwestern Italy that borders with France.
True to its name – “at the foot (piede) of the mountains (monti)” – the region lies in the foothills of the Alps and is surrounded by mountains on three sides.
Thanks to its geographic position, Piedmont is blessed with a unique agricultural biodiversity that makes its red wines (Barolo, Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Barbaresco) so special. In Italy only Tuscany rivals Piedmont for the greatness of its wine.
Piedmontese cuisine ranks among the finest in Italy, so it’s no coincidence that Piedmont is the home of the Slow Food Movement.
Piedmont is the second largest of Italy’s 20 regions but arguably is second to none for elegance and class.
The local dialect and cuisine bear strong inflections of French culture. Even today the older generation speaks a Piedmontese dialect, and the whole atmosphere is, on the surface, more Français than Italiano.
The Langhe region is the heart of Piedmont, a succession of cultivated hills and vineyards dotted with small towns and castles. In 2014 the viticultural countryside of the Langhe was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.