Italian geography

Geography inspires travels, daydreams by giving many clues about the people who live in far and away lands. And Italian geography is an integral part of Italian culture and language because as all students of Italian 101 learn within the first week of class: the Italian spelling is done with the Italian cities. And all native Italians know all the Italian cities, where they are located and their wider regions.

People educated in Italian schools learn their own geography in elementary and middle school and like most Europeans, they know the major facts about the 20 regions that make up the boot. However, many non-Europeans who plan to visit or move to Italy judge Italian geography useless and most even refuse to learn the few Italian cities whose first letter make up their full name.

Unfortunately, when you can't spell your name with Italian cities, you can't book or make any reservations and Italians have no clue about non-Italian sounds, even more so when you have a non-Italian spelling...

One extra reason to savor Italian geography is that it comes with its diverse history, costumes, dialects, specific words, expressions and use of the grammar typical of only specific areas.

In fact, despite the stereotypes: Italy isn't a monoculture and the Italian friendliness you perceive is in most cases just a façade. This is even truer in business situations like long term renting, buying properties and doing business.

Therefore be aware of any Italian language class that doesn't teach the alphabet with the names of the Italian cities because you'll be missing a useful part and won't be able to spell your name properly. Plus, you'll be missing all the Italian culture bits that come with it...

Take private Italian classes with us: turinepi@gmail.com

the Turin University founded in 1404

Italy is often divided into 3 main areas because more or less culturally, i.e. the mindest, the habits, the flavors, the products and the local pronunciation / use of the grammar is more or less the same.

However, within each one of the 20 Italian regions there are some differences as wide as blindfolded natives can tell where they are just by one detail! 

Picture Italy like a quilt where each region is made up of a colorful quilt of its own. Northern, Central and Southern Italy become a galaxy of multiple local realities where the wider region or closer lager town are a symbol of the whole locality.

Turin's pedestrian Via Garibaldi if full of specialty shops and café

As per the Italian constitution, since 1946, Italy has been a republic with a president, a prime minister and a parliament. From 1861 to 1946, Italy was a kingdom with a king and its royal family: the Savoy dynasty or Savoia in Italian. 
Yes, like the French region because the Savoy kingdom that birthed Italy as a unified nation started in the 10th century and to these days, it is one of the oldest dynasties in Europe. Up to 1861 the Savoy kingdom had different borders and it comprised some French areas like Nice where Giuseppe Garibaldi who unified the rest of the boot was born and Savoie or the current Savoy, Alpine French region bordering Italy.

When Italy got unified in 1861, all the smaller kingdoms, city states, duchies, the papal state, the foreign protectorate of the kingdom of the two Sicilies, as they had existed for centuries, merged into one nation whose capital was Turin. This is because the need for a unified nation started within the intellectual circles of Turin and because unlike the rest of the boot, Turin's wider region: Piedmont hadn't been under a foreign power - in fact, Napoleon governed Northwest Italy only for 3 years. Back then and up to the 1970s, Piedmont was also the most advanced Italian region, the real economical capital where FIAT had ignited the post WWII boom. 

Turin's mayor parading on St John's Day 2025

Italy is organized in 20 regions, each one with a regional president and a regional capital, plus other cities acting as 'provinces' and towns. There are no counties in Italy and if you live in a small town you'll have to refer to the closest large town or city for all your Italian documents.

The major lakes are located up North and Lake Como is just one of the many, where the most popular ones among native Italians are Lake Maggiore, Lake Garda, Lake Iseo. In Piedmont, we also have gorgeous and quaint Lake Orta around where the Italian percolator was born, as well as its famous Italian brand Bialetti. Famous Italian design company, Alessi is also from this great area because this is where steel was produced. 

We can easily say that Piedmont and Lake Orta gifted Italy their famous moka pot allowing Italians and the world to enjoy their espresso wherever they are, especially at home!

The Turin's City Hall on June 24th

Italy has two mountain groups: a crown of Alps up north and the Apennines - Italy's spinal cord running along the boot. In winter, people can ski virtually everywhere in Italy, but in the South, given the milder to warm climate, most buildings don't have any heating. This is why despite its fascinating and diverse landscape, ALL Southern Italy is the epitome of the glamorous summer.

... and also why most 1€ dilapidated houses are located in quasi ghost villages up in the hills or mountains of the South. 

Yet, all foodies and history nerds will love learning how the multi-layered history of Italy brought us sorbet, gelato, and most of our food specialties!

Sorbet was brought over to Sicily during the Arab dominion that lasted to the 11th century when the Scandinavians chased them. Back at the times of the Arab domination, the winter snow was collected, topped with the juice of the citrus grown on the island, and enjoyed as a slushy!

Turin's famous for her chocolate and cream based gelatos

Generally speaking, Italy's major islands and archipelagos are located in the South of Italy and like Sicily, most minor islands are volcanic. This is an important  detail for all lovers of Italian wine as the soil composition, sun exposure, winds and water composition are key in the winemaking business.

The geographical extension of each Italian region also gives you other clues about the amount of wine produced: starting from the size of the vineyards, the vinification processes and the grape varieties  grown in each wine district.

For example, the steady growing popularity of Prosecco forces the Veneto producers to import chardonnay grapes from Piedmont, where even without volcanic soil, the Erbaluce di Caluso Passito DOCG variant is produced in a grossly similar way to the more famous Zibibbo di Pantelleria, made in Pantelleria - uber chic Sicilian island located halfway between Tunisia and Sicily, where Sting and other celebrities have a summer villa!

Piedmont Alta Langa DOCG and plin raviolis

Italy has also many rivers, the major ones run across the major cities: Arno in Florence, Tiber in Rome and Po originating in the Piedmont Alps, running through Turin and crossing all Northern Italy, irrigating our famous rice paddies and ending in a picturesque estuary on the Adriatic Sea.
Over the centuries many artists portrayed the Italian rivers yet, today, if besides food and wine, you are into cycling and nature, riding along the Po River provides you with a unique natural experience through the incontaminated Italian wildlife, ecosystem and diverse landscapes. 

Most non-Italians are fascinated by the idea  that Italy has rice paddies but that's just because they can't picture a country where Venice and her beauty are a way of life and not an exception. Following the Po River to its estuary on the Adriatic Sea, you'll find some gorgeous fishing villages with canals and tiny bridges: miniature Venices where the locals breed, cook, serve and eat: eels!

Don't worry though, our Italian eels aren't electric and traditionally, native Italians discriminate between genders (!) and include in the Christmas Eve feast only the male! The 7 Fish Christmas Feast is just an Italian-American thing as Italy has a very diverse cuisine and endless culinary traditions!

Turin's elegant Art Nouveau palazzos where real people live

Geography is intertwined with history, even more so in Italy where locality speaks of craftsmanship and art, besides flavors, colors and materials. The Southern volcanoes have always inspired Italian writers and painters; Napoleon was exiled to Elba Island - a very popular summer destination among Italians, yet undetected by most international tourists. Sardinia's emerald waters are on the map of the wealthiest of our planet, but most vacationers are still Italian. And as much as Venice is loved and overcrowded, very few international tourists are aware of its glass blowing workshops, International Film Festival and Art Biennale. 

When interested in Italy, always scratch the surface, learn its history and geography and you'll find a kaleidoscopic nation with an endless reservoir of treasures.

If you are already familiar with the usual places, keep digging and googling, find out about Le Marche region by Umbria: its towns will blow your mind away!!

Let the less touristy places allure you over... Turin and Piedmont will never disappoint you and are the real hidden gems of Italy!

Real people live and work in Turin's Roman lanes and downtown aristocratic palazzos

Italy is literally 'like a chocolate box': each place you go 'you never know what you are gonna get' besides beauty, art, history and great food & wine culture!

It all started in Turin, so let it bring you back where the Italian nation and the Italian national sense were born.

Email Lucia: turinepi@gmail.com

for your private tours, tastings, private classes, concierge, consulting and more!

 

Turin time

There are always interesting things to know about Turin before making it over here, even only to soften your landing, culturally speaking. Whether Turin is your 1st Italian destination or your 20th, most things will be newer to you than you had expected. Naturally, this applies to native Italians too because as you may already know: Italy is a tiny and very diverse boot made up of 20 very distinct regions.

During our cross cultural workshops and relocation sessions, we always explain how the concept of one whole monocultural Italy has never existed. Thus the lack of a national sense in favor of the more common 'campanilismo' or affectionate attachment to our own little village church belltower. 

Words and their origins always give us nice insights on the culture of the language they belong to and campanile is the church belltower where the bell rings every 15 minutes to mark the time and remind us where we are in our day. Yet, paraphrasing Kant, time and space are both universal and subjective and especially time is a very fluid dimension here in the boot.

Unlike what you see represented by most Non-Italian tv and cinema productions, and even if you have already visited other more touristy Italian places, once you are in Turin, you'll soon find out for yourself how what easily works out in Rome and Sicily doesn't necessarily work up in Northern Italy, especially here in the Northwest.

wandering in Turin

In the blink of an eye, May is almost gone, as well as the 37th International Book Fair of Turin where 'Lucia of Turinepi' was invited as a guest speaker by Dr Naila Clerici, the Italian expert about the Native Americans, First Nations and Aboriginal People of North America. In 2026 the Turin Book Fair will be on May 14-18.

If you can read and understand Italian, this is the perfect event for you because you'lI find all the Italian publishing houses, including the indie ones, plus tons of guests, presentations, talks and events within the book fair AND many more all around Turin. So, you'll get to hear many authors and will also have the possibility to buy many Italian books, often, those you don't usually find in bookshops.

Photo by Mr B. Menegatti: Dr Naila Clerici, Lucia Hannau and Maura Valleri

3-1 gin risotto

Surprisingly amici, we made it to Easter 🐇 and the Spring veggies and fruits 🍓and as customary, we are sharing with you one of our risotto recipes that you can make into 3 different versions, according to your preferences and occasions.

We are sure that at least one of these 3 versions will save your meal bringing you culinary stardom among your family and friends.

To us risotto is conforting, elegance, tradition, history and identity and this is why it is often what we teach in our cooking classes, available online too.

chocolate, one of Turin's core biz since the late 1600s

Why Turin or Piedmont?

It is officially spring 🌷 in Turin too where we have just finished the Special Winter Olympic Games and are now in full Easter mood with bakeries, pastry shops and grocery stores full of huge chocolate Easter eggs and our traditional dove cake.
Because many people are planning their summer trips and more are considering moving over to Turin, or Piedmont anyway, today we are sharing some of our considerations for travelers, movers and students.

For more resources, at the bottom of this post 👇we linked all our Social Network accounts. On Instagram and Facebook we do daily stories so you can get a real life impression of our vidaroyal 👑 and on our YouTube channel you'll find some sample Italian, yoga and pilates classes, and many other videos.

Mimosa cakes in Turin for the International Women's Day on March8th

moving to Turin or Piedmont

Our February means: Carnival 👯, Valentine's Day 🌹, the Turin Wine Salon (Feb 24- Mar 3) 🍷 approaching together with the Turin Chocolate Festival (Feb 27 - Mar 2) 🍫basically a short but intense month that honestly, this year, has been feeling more like a whole year!

So, if you need something to distract your mind and to help you visualize a different life, this is the post for you! Whether you are thinking about a short break or a trip to Italy, or if the idea of moving over is tickling you, we are going to give you some good points to support your project!

Merchants, gold and calendar

Like a Russian doll, the longer you'll spend in Turin, the more she will amaze you with a crescendo of surprises.
Most people are totally unaware of what Turin holds; a few know about Juventus (one of our two soccer teams); some are familiar with her industrial past thanks to FIAT, but only wine and culinary professionals can easily put her on the map. And yet, Turin has always occupied a very distinctive spot in the European map. 

Thanks to her central position, for over ten centuries, Turin has created a broad network of cultural and economical connections, granting her a privileged relationship with the European royal courts and the commoners who quickly integrated her name in their own language. This is why Turin has the same spelling in most languages.

At the European level, Turin has always been synonym of refinement in many domains, from art to technology, from education to economy, but especially agriculture and industrial innovation. This is how she won many nicknames like the Philadelphia, the Paris, the MoTown and the Chicago (because we have famous bulls too!) of Italy and her legacy is visible all around town from the university founded in 1404 to her many churches, especially the Chapel of Merchants, Shop Keepers and Bankers! 

This is a stunning Roman Catholic church following the usual Turin rule: unassuming from its façade and majestic when you enter. Renovated in 2017, this Baroque church is fully gilded and literally glistens during the service. 

Thanks to its excellent acoustics, it is also often used as a concert hall.

Located in Via Garibaldi 52, it was commissioned by the guild of merchants, shopkeepers and bankers as a place to pray and network; finally, in 1692 it was inaugurated. Interestingly, its decorations are about the Epiphany or the manifestation of Christ to the powerful people on earth. Consequently, this church celebrates January 6th - the Epiphany Day, as its official holiday.

Most paintings and decorations date back to the late 17th - early 18th centuries: all the paintings in the main hall are about the three wisemen visiting the baby Jesus, and they alternate along the walls, with statues of saints and popes.

In 1695, the beautiful fresco on the vault was completed with its representation of the Paradise, the prophets, the sybils (female seers who could foretell the coming of Christ) and episodes from the Bible.

Behind the 1797 altar and at both sides, there are two reliquaries and three paintings about the nativity, the adoration of the kings and the flight into Egypt.

Facing the altar on the opposite wall there is a 1700 pipe organ.

This Baroque church is definitely stunning on its own but the real gem is actually the sacristy aka 'the priest's locker room'- where the priest gets ready for the service.

Here you can see an altar piece about the Adoration of the Magi, different antique pieces of furniture like a small throne (1792), a 1712 closet, many religious objects, the archive of the guild and the perpetual calendar!

This perpetual calendar is a 1700 computer: a machine that perfectly calculates all the calendar information for 4000 years starting on year 0. The calculation of the lunations, days of the week and Christian holidays is extremely precise too.

Follow the yellow brick road to Turin, amici, get in touch with Lucia 📧 turinepi@gmail.com 

to plan your travel with all the insider's information you need to make the most of your time in Torino, Piedmont and Italy but especially, to book your private tours, tastings and private classes.

We recommend you:
- devote a whole week to discover Turin and her many gems, 
- land at TRN ✈ and 
- travel with an empty suitcase to stock up on all our local products🎁: art, wines, chocolates, cookies, candies, cashmere, and souvenirs just to tickle your fantasy 😜

Turin will amaze you!