Around 200,000 hectares of protected areas—about eight percent of the region as a whole—give Piedmont a strong natural character. At the same time, its landscape ranges from Alpine wilderness and glaciers to royal residences, pilgrimage sites and wine country. You can get to know the region through a wide variety of discoveries: its landscapes and outdoor activities, cultural history, or winegrowing and the architectural traces it has left behind.
Wilderness areas and glaciers
Piedmont’s national parks include Gran Paradiso National Park and Val Grande National Park. Gran Paradiso was founded in 1922, and Val Grande in 1992. Val Grande National Park preserves the largest continuous wilderness area in the Alps and Italy, and is a destination for nature lovers and trekkers. The two founding dates mark different milestones in the region’s history of protected areas.
The Alta Valsesia and Alta Val Strona Nature Park brings together high-Alpine flora, mighty glaciers and extensive coniferous forests. Animals found there include ibex, chamois, roe deer and eagles. The glacier nature trail near Alagna offers a closer look at the glaciers. It lies opposite the Monte Rosa glacier, takes about two hours and uses information panels to explain the history of the area’s glaciers.
Cultural history is also visible in the landscape. The Walser, an ancient people of Germanic origin from neighboring Switzerland, settled in Macugnaga and the upper Valsesia in the 13th century. They had a significant influence on the culture and appearance of these areas.
Residences, pilgrimage sites and a museum
The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in Turin and Piedmont have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. This cultural, historical, architectural and scenic route offers a way to explore different aspects of the region’s heritage. The Sacri Monti offer a different cultural experience: they remain places of Christian pilgrimage, prayer and reflection.
In Turin, the Museo Egizio is dedicated to Egyptian civilization. It is the world’s oldest museum devoted to this civilization and offers a journey through more than 4,000 years of history, art and archaeology. The region therefore offers various ways to explore history, from museums to religious and architectural sites.
La Mandria combines natural and cultural landscapes in its own distinctive way. You can explore the area on foot, by bicycle, on horseback or by carriage. Forests, pastures, farmland and numerous farmsteads are part of the landscape, alongside protected historic buildings and a medieval ricetto. In this setting, you can spot deer, wild boar, fallow deer, hares and badgers.
Wine country and its traditions
The UNESCO-listed wine landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato comprises five distinct wine-growing areas. Cultivated slopes shape a cultural landscape of hilltop villages, castles, Romanesque churches, farmsteads, Infernot cellars and wine stores. Langhe-Roero and Monferrato also preserve winegrowing and winemaking traditions with a long history.
Infernot are old cellars hand-carved into the tuff in Monferrato. They give the wine landscape a distinctive architectural dimension. The towns of Nizza Monferrato and Canelli are also associated with regional wine specialties: Nizza Monferrato with Barbera, and Canelli with Asti Spumante.
A wine-route circuit in the Province of Turin takes in 25 DOC wines made from 11 characteristic grape varieties. Tastings are held at numerous wineries and farms, as well as at the two regional wine shops in Roppolo and Caluso. This makes it possible to explore winegrowing through both the landscape and the products and places associated with it.
Cycling routes of different scales
For a cycling tour, Bar2Bar is an approximately 124-kilometer circular route through much of the Langhe Roero area. It follows quiet roads and gravel tracks, passing through forests and along farm tracks. Route conditions may vary.
Other cycling routes differ in length and course: one is about 95 kilometers long, starts in Carema and runs via Ivrea, Santhià and Vercelli towards Vinzaglio. Another is about 446 kilometers long, starts in Dormelletto in the Novara area, reaches into the mountain regions via Biella and Ivrea, and follows the access routes to Piedmont’s valleys. These distances give an indication of the length of each route; when choosing, it is also worth considering which course best suits your travel plans.
Discover more destinations: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Novara, Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Turin, Vercelli, Cuneo.
For the broader travel overview: Italy.
