Piedmont

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

Before: documents, housing, school. First week: codice fiscale, SIM, bank account. First month: residence permit if non-EU, residence, SSN registration, then the driving licence within a year. Household goods duty-free for arrivals from outside the EU, car to be re-registered.

Trenitalia regional trains with the Turin Metropolitan Rail Service; the BIP integrated electronic ticket valid on almost all Piedmontese operators; Turin Caselle and Cuneo Levaldigi airports; Alpine passes to France and Switzerland.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

Twelve territorial ASLs plus university hospital trusts; Azienda Zero coordinates procurement and the booking centre. The Salute Piemonte portal gives access to the Electronic Health Record and online services. Mountain rescue is integrated with the 118 service.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

Manufacturing and services labour market centred on Turin; specialised districts (Biella, Valenza, Alba, Valsesia); seasonal work in tourism and agriculture; cross-border commuters to Switzerland from the Ossola. Job centres run by Agenzia Piemonte Lavoro.

Two large public universities in Turin (University and Polytechnic), the University of Eastern Piedmont in Vercelli, Novara and Alessandria, the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. Regional grants, halls and canteens through EDISU Piemonte.

Eight provinces (one Metropolitan City), ordinary statute, capital Turin. Historic linguistic minorities in the Alpine valleys; Piedmontese is protected only by regional law.

Continental plain with fog and cold winters, Alps with snow from November to April, drier hills. Recurrent flood risk on the Po and Tanaro; low seismicity (zones 3 and 4). Air in the plain is among the worst in Europe for PM10.

Four UNESCO sites (Savoy Residences, Sacri Monti, Langhe-Roero and Monferrato vineyard landscape, Ivrea) plus the Viverone pile dwellings; Gran Paradiso and Val Grande; skiing on the Via Lattea and in the Monterosa area; Lake Maggiore. Tourist tax set by municipalities.