Hi, I joined this forum not long ago and I have enjoyed reading some of the posting. I'm Italian but I live in England since 1994. i go home for all my holidays so I still know my Country quite well.
I noticed that nobody seems to be talking about one of the most unspoilt regions of Italy: Piedmont!
It is the North-West part of Italy and stretches from the Alps to almost the Riviera and Lake Maggiore.
Turin is the main town and with the winter Olympics it has been uplifted. With its Egyptian museum (the second largest after Il Cairo!), the car museum with more than 80 car manufacturers exhibited there, The high tower of "La mole antonelliana" and the cinema museum, Turin is really not to be missed.
And for those of you who love the real Italian life, local familiy-run restaurants and gorgeous wine why not stay in the Monferrato region of Piedmont where you can enjoy all what Tuscany offers, but in the real Italian way.
If you are interested I can write more about it!
Just ask and I'll be glad to email you directly or if enogh interest is raise, we can keep this posting open.
Actually, Piedmont ois much discussed on theboard: not nearly as much as Tuscany, but in terms of regions (not cities) it's probably the second most discussed.
Hi myItaly and welcome to Slowtrav! Actually there are some fans of Piemonte in this forum, have a look at some recent threads here and here! Part of my family lives in southern Piemonte and my grand grand parents were from Turin. I spent almost all the weekends from 0 to 10 YO in val Borbera, Alessandria province quite near Serravalle Scrivia (one of the most unknown areas of this very unknown region!)
And for those of you who love the real Italian life, local familiy-run restaurants and gorgeous wine why not stay in the Monferrato region of Piedmont where you can enjoy all what Tuscany offers, but in the real Italian way.
My Italy....I have been saying this and saying this and saying this in posts on Slow Travel for months now!!! YOu are absolutely 100% right... look, see I have written 1300 posts? Over 75 percent of those posts have been making the points you are making. I am in the Monferrato and still to this day cannot believe how beautiful, how dignified, how authentic and how lovely and loving this area is.
Welcome to Slow Travel and more conversation about beautiful Piemonte...
Where in the Monferrato does your family come from?
PS: Just got news from my friends in the know: Brad Pitt bought an estate 14 km west of Asti....there goes the neighborhood!!!
Brad Pitt bought an estate 14 km west of Asti....there goes the neighborhood!!!
Diana
Well, I was going to visit.....forget it now!
just kidding!!!
Diana - your posts have made me want to visit Piedmont. For our next trip we are going to do Southern Tuscany for 2 weeks and then 1 week somewhere else. Piedmont is high on my list but it is so hard to find good information on where to go and what to see.
I noticed that nobody seems to be talking about one of the most unspoilt regions of Italy: Piedmont!
I will be in Piemonte for the third time next month (very much looking forward to my stay at Baur B&B) and have sent a number (smaller than I might have wished) of clients there in the past.
With the increased publicity generated by the recent Winter games and Diana Strinati Baur's heroic efforts, I think we will see increased traffic there in the future. Whether Brad Pitt or the outlet mall will be a factor, I am dubious.
Mary you can PM me or send me an email thru my website whenever you want and I will try to give you all the information I can. Sometimes I feel like a one woman tourism office for Piemonte... one of the things that makes the area so special is that there is very little actual organized information for tourists...it helps to keep the area authentic but makes it hard for people to get an idea of what it is like. I will help you if I can!
Whether Brad Pitt or the outlet mall will be a factor, I am dubious.
Jim, I think I'd rather HOPE they're not a factor!!!!
quote:
Sometimes I feel like a one woman tourism office for Piemonte...
Diana, likeminds again!!! I always say that the Le Marche tourist service should pay me as I do much more than they do for attracting travellers to the region! Their last great ideas about promoting the region were: all included weekend for 2 for 150 euros Full board with museum visits and truffle tasting and an amazing "caccia al tesoro" (treasure hunt?) around the Montefeltro!
My husband and I have been fortunate enough to go to Piedmonte twice this past year as we had business in Geneva and utilized both opportunities to either drive or take the train over and it is absolutely a gem! Both times (Oct. & Feb before the games) we stayed at La Villa Hotel in Mombruzzo and had a wonderful time. I am way overdue in writing a trip report and have alot of photos I could include so will have to get to that sometime soon. Anyway, our hosts arranged a truffle hunt that was great fun out in the hills with Mario and his dog Rocky, we toured the many enotecas, ate in some amazing restaurants which I can recommend, visited a few area towns and shops both times. Only wished we had more time to spend on each of our visits as these were both extended weekends combined with these business trips. And last but not least, did I tell you how much we LOVE porchini mushrooms? Well if you have the chance to visit Acqui Terme, another beautiful town, go visit Emelio and his family run shop, www.oliveri-piemonte.it where they sell first quality - some of the largest dried porchinis you'll ever see. We bought a kilo of these gems and brought them back and shared them with our local Bistro that makes wonderful porchini risotto. Anyway, I really can't say enough about this wonderful part of Italy and the people there treat you like family.
Posts: 51 | Location: Arlington, WA | Registered: 30 June 2005
Marie, one of the first stories in my blog is about Oliveri(there is even a little picture of Signora Oliveri by the story). We take all of our guests over to see Signora Oliveri and buy some dried porcini and other wonderful goods which they make at their azienda agricultura. We also send people to La Villa when we are booked. You are right, it is a lovely place, and this area really deserves to be visited!!
)The thing I appreciate most about having booked at Diana's Baur B&B, is that I can arrive there without having to do tons of planning and research. I know if we just put ourselves in Diana's hands all will go smoothly and our days will be full of fun! That's a very important perk!
I welcome your input on this site. I lived 6 years in Torino as a child 1958-1964 and loved every minute. Now however, Piemonte seems ever so industrial and full of unfriendly/unhappy tourists. My wife and I spent 5 years in the 1990's vacationing all over northern Italy until we finally migrated to Southern Tuscany as our vacation/second home.
I would love nothing more than to be able to find a place in Piemonte to spend some months a year 'semi-retired" but I have lost interest in recent years, as I have so enjoyed another part of Italy that I did not know before.
I still have an open mind, so let us hear from you.
Posts: 223 | Location: Birmingham,Alabama | Registered: 27 February 2005
We're currently planning our next trip and while we know there will be time in Tuscany and Southern france we haven't locked anything else down, and Piemonte is on the list of possibilities - feel free to convince me
Originally posted by Roy: Now however, Piemonte seems ever so industrial and full of unfriendly/unhappy tourists.
Roy, to my knowledge, with the exception of Torino/Lingotto, Piemonte is really known for agriculture and wine. I am not quite sure what industry you might be referring to. The Monferrato and Langhe are agriculturally mixed: hazelnuts, vineyards, cherry plantations, and cropland (corn, barley, wheat). The towns are antique, some restored, some not restored. I have to travel pretty far to find any industry to speak of. The beauty of Piemonte is in its pristine nature...beautiful woodlands....history, art and culture, all very unspoiled. We have had nothing but over-the-top thrilled tourists who basque in all of this nature and authentic beauty!!
Maybe you can give Piemonte another try! COme to the Monferrato and see!!
I totally agree with Diana! I'm not sure where you find all the industries. I spend time in the area near Casale Monferrato at Villa Mimma and there is nothing but splendind countryside. At Easter we even went along the river Po which has suffered quite a lot of damage because of flooding and after 20 minutes walking we were in a really nice beach with the kids enjoying dipping their feet in the freezing water. We went walking amongst vineyards and woodlands around the area, with picnics and jugs of water and we also went touring with the car to see the nearby villages... how can you not be in love with all this beauty I don't know. May be you could spend a long weekend in this area. May is full of festivals and in particular there is the "Riso & Rose" festival that touches most of the Monferrato villages in May,... Anyway, I could go on forever!!! Still unconvinced Roy?
I am a big fan of Piemonte as well. And I would also like to add that many areas of Italy which are less popular among tourists are as beautiful as Tuscany. Now, I am saying this against my own interests, as I run a business in Tuscany... so... wait... I should probably say that Tuscany is the best place all over the world!!! But, despite I am pretty sure that it is one of the top 10, and in my local heart is naturally n.1, noboody can deny that there are many areas which, at least as far as the countryside goes, are as amazing.
Of course, Tuscany has the advantage of having an incredible concentration of great cities as well, but, once again, there are many cities which are worth seeing all around Italy.
Topic Closed
But, despite I am pretty sure that it is one of the top 10, and in my local heart is naturally n.1, noboody can deny that there are many areas which, at least as far as the countryside goes, are as amazing. 