Piemonte

Living in Italy

- Piemonte

A few interesting facts about Piemonte

The shape of the “ciciu” is indeed remarkable. These stone mushrooms can be found in Villar San Costanzo, in the province of Cuneo. They are giant stones (gneiss occhiadino) resting on earth pillars that attract tourists and photographers from all over the world. In order to protect the “ciciu” and the extraordinary value of the landscape in the surrounding area, a nature reserve has been established.

Ivrea is the home of Olivetti, a company with a futuristic vision that has made history for its products such as the "Lettera 22" typewriter or the P101 (what is considered by many to be the world's first personal computer), but also for its social responsibility, linked to the area, the people and the families of its employees. Today Ivrea still boasts residential districts and public buildings built by the company.

An iconic “piece” of Italy was invented in Crusinallo (in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola): the moka coffee machine. Alfonso Bialetti, inspired by the washerwomen who used to boil water for washing, letting it flow out of a pipe located in the middle of the tub, had the idea of a kettle for ground coffee, which he called Moka to pay homage to the Yemenite city of Mokha, from which a coffee with an excellent flavor came.