Piedmont in a nutshell

Public fountains commonly founded in Turin , nowadays, there are 800 of them. The name means "little bull" in Piedmontese language, and it's named after the shape of the water dispenser. Toret is made of cast iron, shaped as a parallelepiped arched on the top. It's polished with an iconic bottle green . The first who suggested the placement of public fountains in Turin was Edoardo Pecco, hence, in 1862, the city installed 21 toret. The number increased during the time. These fountains are built in Frossasco, however Turin has some different shaped fountains made of stone, especially in the hills. Turinese inhabitants are fond of torets, there have been complaints about some proposals of replacing the torets with other fountains. Locally, the expression " Eva dël sìndich ", meaning "major's water", indicates the water of the public fountains, referring to the fact it's free and the major is the one paying.

Monument located in Turin, the most important among the Savoy residences. Description Royal Palace presents baroque, rococo and neoclassical styles. The building is part of the Royal Museums , along with Savoy Gallery, Armoury, Library, antiquity museum and Chiablese Palace. The palace is considered by UNESCO , world human heritage, as part of Savoy residences in Piedmont. History In 1563, Savoy Duke Emanuele Filiberto moved the capital city from Chambéry to Turin. Initially the ducal family dwelled in nearby Madama Palace , way older but not satisfying for the dynasty. Hence, Carlo Emanuele I began to construct the nowadays' palace, in the place where bishop's palace was. The duke committed architect Ascanio Vitozzi , who passed away before the ending of the works, thus Amedeo di Castellamonte took his place. Finally, the palace was ultimated in 1660, however, later adjustments were made by Juvarra and Alfieri .

Piedmontese sweet bread from Chieri , in the metropolitan city of Turin . Description Better known Genoan focaccia is very salty and tasty, on the other hand, Chieri's one is sweet, made from flour, milk, butter, beer yeast and sugar . Whilst the former has salt gems on it, the latter has powdered sugar on the top. The dough is very soft and buttery, ordinary shaped as traditional focaccia, however there are many other shapes it's sold in. The most famous one is " Galucio 'd Cher ", a chicken shaped Chieri's focaccia; other shapes include the carabiniere , italian militar force. Similar Piedmontese specialties are Alessandria's and Giaveno's focaccias. History Chieri's focaccia dates back to 19th century, when poor farmers families used shared ovens to make a sweet for celebrations. During epiphany people used to tuck a broad bean inside the focaccia, then it was sliced and the person who received the loaf with the broad bean had to pay a pena...

Monument located in Arona , in the province of Novara , defined as colossus . San Carlone is a statue of San Carlo Borromeo , 35m tall, made of copper and placed on a granite pedestal . Inside it's hollow and visitable , and it has been the tallest of this genre until the construction of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was devised by Cerano , from copper slabs jointed with iron nails and straps . History Carlo Borromeo was born in Arona in 1538, and he descended from a noble and powerful local family. He was named archibishop of Milan and he was a fundamental figure during catholic counter-reformation . Carlo was declared saint in 1610, hence his cousin, the new Milan's archibishop, wanted to make a Sacred Mountain in Arona, visible from the lake Verbano . Read the article in Piedmontese language clicking this link.

Turin 's most famous and iconic monument, located in Centro neighbourhood. Mole is 167m tall and combines neogothic and neoclassical styles. It has a square shape base that evolves in a tall spike , whose top is garnished with a stone statue of the winged genius . Since 2000, Mole Antonelliana hosts Cinema's Museum . History Mole was meant to be the Turinese Jewish synagogue after 1848 royal Statuto Albertino concession: a chart which among other things, granted freedom of worship . Jewish community commissionated the construction to Alessandro Antonelli and the original project wanted the synagogue to be only 47m tall. The tallness of the building was increasing constantly in the facts, hence the costs were unaffordable for the Turinese Jewish community, which preferred to move their holy building to the actual synagogue of Turin. Mole in the 19th century before the construction of its spike Mole Antonelliana instead, was purchased and finished by the city of Turin, reachin...

Also known as dalmassin , it's a cultivar of plum almost exclusively grown and spread through Piedmont . Description Ramassin fruit is very tiny: it seems a grape in size (1,5x3cm). Outside it's dark purple whilst in the inside it's greenish. The flesh is wery sweet and tender, while the peel is rich in pruinescence . History The name "dalmassin" makes us think about its origin: it hails from Damascus , and came to Piedmont with crusaders during the middle ages. The plant then spread in South West Piedmont , where its hill microclimate allowed a good yield. Ramasin is nowadays cultivated in Cuneo and Turin provinces, since in the 13th century, some Benedictine monks started growing them near Chieri.

String instrument, typical in folk music of Occitanie, France, Aragona, Galicia, Cantabria and Hungary , other than Piedmont . Description Strings are tucked inside, and they are played by a rosined wheel which rubs them. The wheel is actioned by a hand turned  crank . Notes are produced pressing the keys on the sides, some play the melody while others play a drone (same note continously). History Hurdy gurdy was born circa in 1000 CE, initially as cleric instrument, which was meant to be played by two people together , one turning the crank and the other pressing keys. Its nowadays appearence hails from the 13th century. During late Middle Ages, hurdy gurdy wasn't played anymore in churches, however, it has been adopted by beggars and itinerant musicians, until 16th century, when it made its way to  courts orchestras. Piedmont In Piedmontese, hurdy gurdy is named "Viòla dij bòrgno", that can be translated as viola of the blinds , underlining its humble origins, back in ...

Otherwise called " pallapugno ", it's a Piedmontese and Ligurian  two team ball sport on a plain court, with a bouncing vertical element on a side which can be a tall wall or fence . How does it work The teams aim to hit the ball only with their fist or forearm to score more points, even letting the ball bounce on the side wall. The court measures 90m in longness and 16 or 18 in largeness. The teams are composed of 4 people, they all use to bandage their wrists because of the weight and the speed of the ball. During the serve the beater must let the ball fall from his hand and hit it from the bottom before it touches the ground, he has a square he cannot overpass and he can take a running start . The halfway line has to be respected only during the serve and until the ball touches the ground, then the players are free to move all around the whole court. Points Points are calculated like tennis: 15, 30, 40 and game, if both teams stands to 40, they have to score two point...

Piedmontese iconic meat based dish, originated in Bra. Description Bra sausage presents two peculiarities: one is about its composition, it's indeed made from beef and not from pork as usually. The other oddity is that it's generally consumed raw. It's nowadays prepared with 70 to 80% beef and the remaining part is pork lard. History The sausage was prepared by Bra's butchers, allowed by Savoy governors using beef instead of pork, for Cherasco jew community, which is forbidden from eating pork for religious rules. Hence, the original recipe was actually 100% beef, however, cow's fat is easily perishable, therefore it has been replaced with pork fat and now Bra sausage isn't a kosher dish anymore.

Piedmontese beer brewery and brand, located in Biella . Menabrea is represented through taverns named after the brand, located in Biella, Turin and Novara. The company produced over 250k hl of beer exported in 36 countries. Next to the brewery plant there is Casa Menabrea , otherwise the company museum, which explains how the company produces the beer and its history. History Menabrea was founded by a Walser and a Piedmontese family in 1846, who sold it to Valdostan Jean Menabrea . His beer was appreciated by politician Quintino Sella , that led to it's fame, even among the royals . Since the '80s, the company expanded its productive plants, enhancing his production, until that moment considered regional. In 1991 Menabrea joined Forst Group,  a South Tyrolean brewery. Fun facts Menabrea beer is used in the production of " sbirro " cheese.

Piedmontese liquor , made from gianduja and produced by  Distillerie Vincenzi , based in Moncalieri, next to Turin. Description Bicerin di Gianduiotto is made from gianduja , coffee and cream , without lactose and gluten. It's a low-alcohol content beverage (15%), it's creamy and sweet. It's sold in 0,7l bottles or in 500ml Mole Antonelliana shaped ones. History Bicerin di Gianduiotto was invented by Ferdinando Vincenzi in 1930, founder of the omonym distillery. In recent times, a variant of the classic one emerged: Bicerin White , white chocolate based liquor, produced by the same company.

Piedmontese dish, made of veal and chicken offal, deglazed with vinegar or Marsala wine. Usage and variants In modern times, finanziera is commonly served along with mushrooms and vegetables , not included in the original recipe. It's also used as filling for vol-au-vent , salty cup shaped pastries. History Finanziera goes back to Piedmontese farmers, that had to use all their animal parts to feed themselves and not starve. In particular, the dish uses the scraps of the butchering of veals and chickens. Despite its humil origins and meat, the dish quickly spread on the tables of the nobility , and was in fact named after "finanziera": the typical upper class jacket .

Piedmontese sauce, icon of the regional cuisine, made from garlic and anchovies slowly cooked in olive oil , until they become a thin beige sauce. Description and usage Bagna càuda is salty and flavoury; like many other Piedmontese dishes it contains a lot of garlic, that for many people can result stodgy and not a blessing for your breath. Its very intense flavour compensate the vegetables which it's intended to match with. In fact, bagna càuda is typically eaten with cardoons, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, beetroots, radish and turnips . Originally it was eaten from a single terracotta vessel named "dian"; however because of lack of hygene caused by everyone dipping bit vegetables, now it's commonly served in "fojòt": same as dian but personal. This vessels were intended to carry and keep the sauce hot, because in the bottom part, they have a hole for glowing embers. Bagna càuda has been spread through Argentina and Usa by immigrants and in Japan , throu...

Romance language originated in Piedmont, spoken by roughly 2 million people, mainly in Piedmont and some parts of Liguria, Lombardy and Aosta Valley , along with Pampa Argentina , where many inhabitants hailed from the Italian region. History First signs First Piedmontese documents, " Sermoni Subalpini " have been written in 12th century, along with a church's floor inscription, both in Vercelli. The language status The language has never been the official or the upper class one, because it's always been classified as a vulgar language, hence  French (during Savoy duchy) and than Italian were preferred. However, the language has been used for centuries as primary and often only language by people. When Italy was unificated, there was the need to create a people who identified as Italian: the obvious solution was creating a common language, evolved from Florence dialect and already used by literates. Piedmontese was gradually replaced, hence now, it's difficult to ...