Italy

Piedmont is one of the great winegrowing regions in Italy with more than half of its 170,000 acres of vineyards registered with DOC designations. It produces prestigious wines such as Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera from the Langhe near Alba. The Langhe was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 for its cultural landscapes and winemaking traditions. It is an area noted for wines, cheeses, hazelnuts, and truffles, in particular the white truffles of Alba. The confectionery group Ferrero (Ferrero chocolates and Nutella) is based in Alba.

Turin was Italy's first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, Italy's royal family. It hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics and is well-known for the Shroud of Turin, the football teams Juventus F.C. and Torino F.C., and as the headquarters of car manufacturers FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo.