PIEDMONT IS TOP OF ‘BEST IN TRAVEL 2019’

Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in Travel 2019’ guide presents Piedmont as the number one region among those to be explored in 2019, ahead of the Catskill Mountains in the US, northern Peru, Australia’s Red Centre, and the Scottish Highlands.

Considering its wealthy offer – which includes lively electronic-music scene, contemporary art fairs, breathtaking alpine paths and scenery, and green valleys where full-bodied red wines and precious truffles are produced – the guide suggests to visit within the next year, because it may not remain a secret known only to the most informed travelers for long. In fact, according to the guide, the northwestern corner of Italy “is adept at playing to its strengths but not always so good at selling its considerable charms to visitors.”

Piedmont’s capital city, Turin, not only has a vast (and recently renovated) Egyptian Museum, hosting one of the largest collections of Egyptian artifacts outside of Cairo, but it is also very well kept, flourishing contemporary-art scene, a very special self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci in the city’s Biblioteca Reale (Royal Library), and has an exceptional view of the Alps. But there are plenty of attractions throughout the region: the sumptuous royal residences built for the once-mighty House of Savoy, the string of ski villages that make up Piedmont’s so-called mountain ‘Milky Way’, and the region’s culinary specialties including hazelnut chocolate and top-notch beef. Obviously, one of the main attractions is the rolling and vineyard landscape of the Langhe-roero and Monferrato, an area listed as UNESCO’S World Heritage.

Indeed, Piedmont, with its red wine, white truffles, and green valleys, proudly represents the national flag.