Piemonte means 'at the foot of the mountains' ('a pie' dei monti') and is situated in north-west Italy surrounded on three sides - north, west and south - by the great arc of the Alps and the northern Apennines, the highest point being Monviso (3 841 m). Hilly in the centre, it is bounded on the east by natural frontiers - Lake Maggiore and the course of the Ticino.

The physical features of the region - 43.3% mountains, 30.3% hills and 26.4% plains - have influenced many aspects of the social, political and economic life and the temperament of the population.

The climate is continental, with wide variations between the maximum summer and minimum winter temperatures, and there are a large number of mountain and winter sports resorts. The river system of Piemonte essentially arises in the Alps, with the rivers arranged in the shape of a fan and flowing into the Po.

Dynamic industry, traditional agriculture
Piemonte boasts a well-established economic structure. The industrialisation which started at the turn of the century was based on the availability of hydroelectric power and on the existence of a comprehensive network of good-quality communications. The growth of small businesses followed on the rapid expansion of major undertakings such as Fiat. In fact, the development of the automobile industry made its effects felt in many sectors from rubber products to plastics, textiles, glass, etc.
Another factor in this trend was the availability of unskilled labour from the rural areas of the region and from the depressed areas of southern Italy.

This aspect of the economy of Piemonte is, however, a Sword of Damocles. Short-term economic downturns and inadequate technological upgrading to improve market competitiveness can have a ripple effect on the entire economic structure of the region. And agriculture, which makes only a very small contribution to the region's wealth, is in a very weak state - high production costs, inadequate marketing and transport networks, holdings amongst the smallest in Europe and ageing farmers.

'North and south' exists also in Piemonte
The region is subdivided into eight provinces - Turin, Vercelli, Biella, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Novara, Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria. Half the population is located in the province of Turin, with the capital city itself accounting for about one million inhabitants, or a good quarter of the total population. The depopulation of the mountains and the flight from the land as a result of the establishment of small businesses supplying the automobile industry have strengthened the towns at the foot of the mountains and Turin and its conurbation.

Over a period of time there has thus emerged a northern Piemonte mainly engaged in industry and with a capital-intensive use of land, and a southern Piemonte which is overwhelmingly agricultural. The first area comprises the provinces of Turin, Vercelli and Novara, the last two being favoured by their situation along the Turin-Milan axis - the 'economic capital' of Italy.
Southern Piedmont, on the other hand, comprises the provinces of Asti, Alessandria and Cuneo, which specialise in fruit and wine-growing, and where there is thus a higher proportion of employment in the primary sector compared with other provinces. However, this subdivision is not quite so clear-cut, since the 'southern' provinces have a number of industrial centres reflecting a second wave of industrial development.