The environment and landscape of Piemonte is dominated by the mountains. The region is located at the foot of the Alpine range with peaks of extraordinary beauty like Monte Rosa, which is the second highest mountain in Europe, Monviso and the Gran Paradiso massif.
The landscape is characterized by soaring peaks and wide valleys, which in the summer are covered with meadows, pastures and larch and fir tree forests, and in the winter are blanketed in snow.
Another typical Piedmont panorama is the winding landscape of hillsides covered with vineyards and very beautiful medieval towns, towers and castles: the hilly territories of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, tucked away between the Maritime Alps and the Ligurian Apennines in southern Piemonte.
Another typical landscape is represented by flat, water rich plains between Novara and Vercelli, and are main dedicated to rice fields. The Po river, the longest river in Italy like 652 kilometres and also the river with the highest flow, springs from the slopes of the Monviso. There are hundreds of small alpine lakes in Piemonte, as well as important lake like Lake Maggiore and Lake d’Orta.
There are more than 400 kilometres of mountains surrounding Torino, from the Maritime Alps to Monte Rosa.This is the Olympic District, with the famous Via Lattea skiing resort surrounded by the Susa, Sangone, Chisone, Germanasca and Pellice valleys and Pinerolo. With a total of almost 600 kilometres of pistes and 91 ski lifts, skiers can enjoy the breathtaking slopes in places like Pragelato, San Sicario, Cesana, and Sestriere.
