Piedmont is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km2 and a population of 4.3 million. The capital is Turin, and the local language is Piedmontese. It borders with France, Switzerland, and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria and the Aosta Valley. The name of the region derives from the Medieval Latin term Pedemontium, which means "at the foot of the mountains." The area occupies the plain of the Po River valley and produces much of the wheat and rice for the country in the area of Novara and Vercelli.

A land of large excursions to observe the nature, culture, art and history, Piedmont gives a thousand reasons to those wishing to get to know it better. Most certainly special, this area features aristocratically noble traits visible also on the landscape. Piedmont's snow and mountains offer spectacular settings for both winter tourism and traditional summer holidays.

The way of cooking in this region has been affected by the close proximity of France and heavily relies on butter for its recipes and not olive oil. However there are some exceptions to this rule such as the manufacture of white truffle oil. The Bagna Cauda is served like an oil fondue and is another exception to the oil/butter rule. Cardi alla Bagna Cauda is a recipe of locally grown chard served with hot sauce, anchovies, garlic and white truffles. Fonduta is a regional fondue dish made with melted cheese, milk, eggs and of course white truffles. Piedmonte is also the home to grissino, a thin and crispy breadstick that has become popular throughout the country.

This place is not only an agricultural center but an industrial one as well. Piedmonte and it's capital of Turin is an industrial powerhouse that has young men from other places of Italy and they join to work in its manufacturing and chemical plants. The city of Turin is also the capital of Italian engineering and its southern suburbs the home to automobile manufacturers Fiat and Lancia.

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