Piedmont

Italy’s westerly Piedmont area is home to more than 50 ski areas including Claviere, which claims to be the country’s oldest ski resort, established more than a century ago. It is right on the border with France, as are many of the ski areas in the region, and in Claviere’s case it has a cross-border ski connection through the Milky Way (or Via Lattea) pass which links Montgenevre in France to half a dozen Italian resorts including the 2006 Torino Olympic resorts on Sanscicario and Sestriere. Sestriere is in fact one of the six most important ski resorts in the region. Built by the owners of the Fiat car company in 1934 and owned by them for 70 years, Sestriere is one of the earliest and still one of the highest purpose- built ski stations. Sitting on a sunny plateau, snow cover is guaranteed thanks to both altitude and one of the world's most extensive snow making operations. Before hosting downhill events in the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Alpine World Championships were staged here in 1997, and the Men's World Cup races take place here every December. It’s neighbour Sauze d’Oulx is another leading centre, while Limone to the south typifies the strong sunny Mediterranean influence of the region. Other famous names include the Monterosa region resort of Alagna Valsesia, famous for its traditional ambience and legendary skiing and the 2006 Winter Olympic snowboarding resort of Bardonecchia, easy to reach by rail from the north via the Frejus tunnel and indeed from the south – it was a popular stop for Italy’s last king Umberto.