Balocco
Comune in Piedmont, Italy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balocco is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Turin and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Vercelli. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 273 and an area of 16.7 square kilometres (6.4 mi2).[3] It is home to Balocco Castle and the Circuito di Balocco road-testing track.
Balocco | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Balocco | |
View of Balocco with the castle and church. | |
  Balocco Location of Balocco in Italy  Balocco Balocco (Piedmont) | |
| Coordinates: 45°27′N 8°17′E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Province | Province of Vercelli (VC) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Piermario Pedruzzi |
| Area | |
• Total | 16.7 km2 (6.4 sq mi) |
| Population (Dec. 2004)[2] | |
• Total | 273 |
| • Density | 16.3/km2 (42.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 13040 |
| Dialing code | 0161 |
Balocco borders the following municipalities: Buronzo, Carisio, Formigliana, San Giacomo Vercellese, and Villarboit.
Demographic evolution
Economy
The main activity is agriculture: rice farming, corn and wheat . The motorway nearby has favored the settlement of industrial companies.
Circuito di Balocco
Balocco is the seat of the major proving ground of FCA Italy. The Circuito di Balocco test track was built in the early 1960s[4] by Alfa Romeo for testing new cars, prototypes and racing cars. In the track is also hosted club and racing organization events.[5] The track area exceeds 5,000,000 square metres (1,200 acres) and it has over 65 kilometres (40 mi) of different types of test tracks.[6]