North-Western Italian architecture

North-Western Italian architecture is usually quite big and bulky, contrasted to the Renaissance and medieval cityscapes in Central Italy, Venetian-style villas and towns in North-Eastern Italy, and cluttered architecture in Southern Italy. Buildings in North-Western Italy are often built with solid bricks, due to the harsh climate in this area. North-Western Italy is not usually identifiable by a particular style: the Aosta Valley and Piedmont tend to be Baroque in essence, Lombardy is a mixture of Central Italian (Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany) and Northern Italian (Piedmont and Lombardy) styles, whilst Liguria is highly unusual, with its brightly painted houses. The area is full of medieval castles, including some very notable early ones in the Aosta Valley and Piedmont, and Renaissance ones in Lombardy. The North-West is also the hub of modern and contemporary Italian architecture; Milan, Turin and Genoa were and still are the capitals of Italian modernist and industrial design, and such examples can be seen in buildings such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower in Milan, Lingotto building in Turin and the "Biscione" neighborhood in Genoa.^[1]

Being a mountainous and very small region, the Aosta Valley's contribution to Italian architecture remains relatively small in comparison to some of the bigger regions, but is noted for its bulky and beautiful stone medieval castles, churches and buildings in general. Aostan architecture is alpine in essence and often has the character of resort towns, seen in communes such as Courmayeur and La Thuile. As a popular ski resort, the region is famous for its wooden chalets.

Piedmont's architecture varies very much. The mountainous areas remain similar to those of the Aosta Valley, the central area is a similar to that of Lombardy, the western area and Turin are very baroque in style, whilst the southern part is similar to the architecture of Liguria. However, Piedmont is known for its grand country houses and palaces, such as the Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi, in Stupinigi and just outside Turin, or the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy which ended up being declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Turin's architecture is grandiose, and mixes elements of Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassicism together. As one of the most important industrial regions in Italy, Piedmont is also renowned for its world-class modern-design architecture, such as the Lingotto, for a period one of the biggest and most technologically advanced factories in Europe, or the region's 1930s mountain hotels.

Lombardy's architecture also remains eclectic and unique. The southern part takes inspiration from the Renaissance architecture of Emilia-Romagna, however the northern part is in essence very much alpine. Lombardy is known for its beautiful medieval and Renaissance cities, such as Mantua, Bergamo, Pavia and Cremona, with monuments such as the Certosa di Pavia, and for its unique Gothic architecture (known as Lombard Gothic), clearly seen in the impressive Milan Cathedral. Lombardy is also home to Italy's industrial architecture, including Italy's first building in glass, steel and iron, the glamorous shopping gallery Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, the impressive 19th century industrial estates at Crespi d'Adda, which have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and innovative modern architecture seen in the Torre Velasca and Pirelli Tower in Milan.

Liguria probably has the most unusual architectural elements of all the North-Western Italian regions. It is famous for its brightly coloured small houses on the coast, which often have very beautiful and intricate designs. Baroque architecture is also common in Liguria, found in many of the region's cities. However, modern architecture has taken the region as well, with world-famous Ligurian architects such as Renzo Piano constructing innovative structures in Genoa, along with Genoa's big aquarium and the modernist mast structure in the old port of Genoa.