Vinadio is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Cuneo

Province of Cuneo

ayr is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ....

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

, located about 100 km southwest of Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 and about 30 km southwest of Cuneo

Cuneo

Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...

, on the border with France. It is located along the Stura di Demonte

Stura di Demonte

Stura di Demonte is a 111 km long river in northwestern Italy . It is a tributary to the river Tanaro, which is a tributary of the river Po. Its source is in the Alps, near the border with France. It flows through Demonte and Cuneo before joining the Tanaro just east of Cherasco....

 river.

Together with Demonte

Demonte

Demonte is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southwest of Turin and about 20 km southwest of Cuneo, in the Valle Stura di Demonte....

 and Pietraporzio

Pietraporzio

Pietraporzio is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southwest of Turin and about 40 km west of Cuneo, on the border with France...

, is one of three comuni of Italian Occitania

Occitania

Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...

.
Vinadio borders the following municipalities: Aisone

Aisone

Aisone is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southwest of Turin and about 30 km southwest of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 269 and an area of 36.7 km². Aisone borders the following municipalities: Demonte,...

, Demonte

Demonte

Demonte is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southwest of Turin and about 20 km southwest of Cuneo, in the Valle Stura di Demonte....

, Isola

Isola

- Places :*Isola, Alpes-Maritimes, a village in France*Isola del Gran Sasso, a town in the Teramo province in the Abruzzo region of Italy*Isola, the Italian name of Izola, a town on the Istrian peninsula in Slovenia*Isola, Maloja, a village in Switzerland...

 (France), Pietraporzio

Pietraporzio

Pietraporzio is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southwest of Turin and about 40 km west of Cuneo, on the border with France...

, Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée

Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée

Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860....

 (France), Sambuco

Sambuco

Sambuco is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southwest of Turin and about 40 km west of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 92 and an area of 46.8 km²....

, and Valdieri

Valdieri

Valdieri is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southwest of Turin and about 15 km southwest of Cuneo, on the border with France...

.

Main sights

In the frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

of Sant'Anna di Vinadio is the eponymous Sanctuary, which is the highest altitude place of Christian worship in Europe (c. 2,000 meters). Vinadio is also home to an important fortification of the former Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia

The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...

, the Forte Albertino

Forte Albertino

The Forte Albertino is a fortress in Vinadio, Piedmont, northern Italy, located outside the town on the Stura di Demonte river valley.Its walls have a length of about 1,200 km, with a total of 10 km internal paths on three levels....

.

Culture

In 2003 the town hosted the 'World Meeting of 2CV Friends', where approx. 7000 people from around the world met & camped around the ancient Forte Albertino.