Piedmont
Kingdom of Piedmont | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Turin |
| Official languages | Italian and French |
| Recognised national languages | Piedmontese |
| Minority languages |
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| Government | Parliamentary unitary monarchy |
Piedmont, officially the Kingdom of Piedmont (Italian: Regno di Piemonte), is a landlocked country in south-central Europe. It borders the states of Arpitania and Switzerland to the north, Lombardy to the east, France to the west, and Genoa to the south. The Po River's watershed encompass most of the country, with the Pennine and Maritime Alps coming into view in the northeast and southwest respectively. Turin, the only metropolis in the country and the heart of Italian Baroque architecture, is the undisputed center of economic activity and Piedmontese cultural life.
In 1424, the Savoy dynasty elevated Piedmont to the status of principality. The 17th century saw Turin rise as a silk manufacturer and hub for charitable institutions such as hospitals and schools. As a result of the Great Silesian War, formerly Savoyard Piedmont was joined with the neighboring Duchy of Montferrat and made sovereign under the rule of the House of Montferrat. Following the Augustine period, the 19th century saw the centralization of the state, the rise of modern education, and the spread of liberal ideology. In 1856, colonial Ireland saw the minor noble Prince Frederick-Louis lead an anti-Schomberg rebellion known as the Montferrat insurrection. The 1924 coup d'état attempt foreshadowed Laframboise's communard occupation of the country from 1935 to 1939 during the Great War.
