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Northern Italy is the most diverse of the four major Italian regions. We have noted the north referred to as Padania, but this is not an official term commonly used term. Padania is not an official name. This name is used by the xenophobic political party Lega Nord (North League) to describe the region north of the Po River (in Latin Padus). Northern Italy is a tourists' delight with the added bonus of wonderful wines to savor along with the unforgetable local cuisine. There is so much to take in as one travels to the various regions of the north. Piedmont has truffle forests and Barolo vineyards. There are lovely lakeside resorts in Lombardy (Lombardia). Tourists love the arcaded walkways in Turin. Milan is an industrial ciy with a fascinating history anbd art. There are mountains, broad river vallies, and beautiful beaches. The mountains include the Alpine South Tyrol. The main River valley is the Po which flows into the Adriatic. The Po Valley makes up the larger portion of Northern Italy. It includes a broad plain extending from the foot of the Apennines to that of the southern Alps. There are valleys and slopes on both sides all along the course of the Po. The Po rises at Monte Viso and empties in the Adriatic Sea. And along the Adriatic coast we find Venice and the Veneto, one of the most engaging cities in the world. A little to the south is Florence, the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. Many Italian cities played an immportant role in the development of Western art. None are more important than Florence. The beaches include the Mediterranean Rivierra. Northern Italy is also the most industrialized area. One reader has provided us some interesting information about San Giorgio della Richinvelda, a small village in northeastern Italy. Trieste in northeastern Italy is a special case. It was for years controlled by Austria. It was the largest port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was awarded to Italy after World War I, but with a large Slovenian population became a bone of contention between Italy and Yugoslavia--especially after World War II.
The extreme north of Italy into the Alps is South Tyrol. It moght be considerd part of the Piedmont, but as it it was so recently acqyured from Austria and had a largely Austrian, Germn speking populatiom. it my be consideed a special case. South Tirol is a beautiful area, combining Mediterranean landscape and Alpine peaks. Unlike most of Italy, the province is covered by snow during the winter. South Tirol was once part of Austria. It was historically an Alpine area connecting Italy to the south and Germny to the north. This is why the stoneage iceman, Ötzi, was discovered in the mountains nearby. He was apprently attempting to cross Alpine passes. It had been for years part of Austria. After World War I as past of the peace settlement, South Tirol was annexed by Italy and became the country's most northerly province. At the time very few Italians lived there. Italy's Austrian minority is mostly located in South Tirol. In the inter-War era Austrian German-speaking community resisted Mussolini's attempts at Italification. The people not only spoke German, but actually looked down on Italians. Other territories Italy won as a result of the War were heavily populated with ethnic Italians. They were a stubborn people, staunchly Catholic and proud of their own ways. They would have welcomed Hitler;s attempts to reunite them with Austria/Germny. The largest city and capital is Bolzano /Bozen. It is today best know for its archaeology museum where Ötzi is housed.
Piedmont (Piemonte) , pronounced [pjeˈmonte] is located in northwestern Italy. It was the kingsom around which unified Italy was built in the 19th century. The capital is Turin. The population speaks an Italian dialect knoewn as Piedmontese. Occitan a language also spoken in southern France is still spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys. Franco-Provençal is also spoken by another minority in the alpine heights north of Turin. The kingdom's name was derived from medieval Latin Pedemontium ("ad pedem montium" -- at the foot of the mountain"). Piedmont has truffle forests and Barolo vineyards.
Northern Italy is also the most industrialized area. Lombardy is dominated by Milan, the most important industrial city in Italy. The Milan metropolitan area is even larger than Rome. There are lovely lakeside resorts in Lombardy (Lombardia). Tourists love the arcaded walkways in Turin. Milan is an industrial ciy with a fascinating history and art. There are mountains, broad river vallies, and beautiful beaches. The mountains include the Alpine South Tyrol/Tirol. The South Tyrol is populaed by ethnic Germans. It was awarded to Italy as part of the World War I settlement. The main River valley is the Po which flows into the Adriatic. The Po Valley makes up the larger portion of Northern Italy. It includes a broad plain extending from the foot of the Apennines to that of the southern Alps. There are valleys and slopes on both sides all along the course of the Po. The Po rises at Monte Viso and empties in the Adriatic Sea.
Along the Adriatic coast in northeastern Italy we find Venice and the Veneto, one of the most engaging cities in the world with a long history. One reader has provided us some interesting information about San Giorgio della Richinvelda, a small village in northeastern Italy. To the northeast is Trieste. It is special case. It was for years controlled by Austria. It was the largest port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was awarded to Italy after World War I, but with a large Slovenian population became a bone of contention between Italy and Yugoslavia--especially after World War II.
A little to the south of Venice is Florence, the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. Many Italian cities played an immportant role in the development of Western art. None are more important than Florence. Tuscany above all is famous for its vinyards and wonderful wines. Tuscany is triangular in shape and lies between the northern area of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the central Apennines.
Tuscany is both surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains. As a result there is relative little flat tillable land. This limited the growth of grains and other crops. But grapes can bee grown in the hilly country.
The beautiful Mediterranean beaches of the Italian Rivierra ajoin the French Rivierra.
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