Aosta Valley in the context of "Western Alps"

Northern Italy (Italian: Italia Settentrionale, Nord Italia, Alta Italia) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four northwestern regions of Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria and Lombardy in addition to the four northeastern regions of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna.

With a population of 27.5 million in an area of 120,312.72 km (46,453.00 sq mi) as of 2025, the region covers roughly 40% of Italy and contains 46% of its population. Two of Italy's largest metropolitan areas, Milan and Turin, are located in the region. Northern Italy's GDP was estimated at €1 trillion in 2021, accounting for 56.5% of the Italian economy.

The regions (Italian: regioni; sing. regione) are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which are autonomous regions with special status. Under the Constitution of Italy, each region is an autonomous entity with defined powers. With the exception of the Aosta Valley (since 1945) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (since 2015), each region is divided into a number of provinces.

Molise (UK: /mɒˈliːzeɪ/ mol-EE-zay, US: /ˈmoʊlizeɪ, moʊˈliːzeɪ/ MOH-lee-zay, moh-LEE-zay; Italian: [moˈliːze]; Molisan: Mulise, pronounced [mə'li.zə]) is a region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Italy. Covering 4,460.65 square kilometres (1,722 sq mi), it is the second smallest region in the country, after the Aosta Valley, and has a population of 287,966 as of 2025.

The region is split into two provinces, named after their capitals: Campobasso and Isernia. Campobasso also serves as the regional capital. Molise's small size and relative obscurity led it to become the subject of a popular meme "Molise doesn't exist".

Piedmont (/ˈpiːdmɒnt/ PEED-mont; Italian: Piemonte [pjeˈmonte]; Piedmontese: Piemont [pjeˈmʊŋt]) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the northwest. Piedmont also borders Switzerland to the north and France to the west.

Piedmont has an area of 25,402 km (9,808 sq mi), making it the second-largest region of Italy after Sicily. It has 4,255,702 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. This city was the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy, from 1861 to 1865.

The provinces (Italian: province [proˈvintʃe]; sing. provincia [proˈvintʃa] ) are the second-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, on an intermediate level between a municipality (comune) and a region (regione). Since 2015, provinces have been classified as "institutional bodies of second level".

There are currently 110 institutional bodies of second level in Italy, including 82 ordinary provinces, 2 autonomous provinces, 4 regional decentralization entities, 6 free municipal consortia, and 15 metropolitan cities, as well as the Aosta Valley region (which also exercises the powers of a province).

A frazione (pl.: frazioni, cognate with English fraction) is a type of subdivision of a comune ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most frazioni were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territorial subdivisions in the country.

In the autonomous region of the Aosta Valley, a frazione is officially called hameau in French. In South Tyrol, a frazione is called Fraktion in German and frazion in Ladin.

Northwest Italy (Italian: Italia nord-occidentale or just Nord-ovest) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwest encompasses four of the country's 20 regions:

• Aosta Valley
• Liguria
• Lombardy
• Piedmont

The Matterhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. Sometimes referred to as the "Mountain of Mountains" (German: Berg der Berge), it has become an indelible emblem of the Alps and is claimed to be the most photographed mountain in the world. The Matterhorn has four faces, each roughly oriented toward one of the four cardinal points. Three of these (north, east, and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed, while the south face lies on the Italian side. These four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, are separated by the Hörnli, Furggen, Zmutt, and Leone (Lion) ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast, and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman era.

The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late 18th century; this was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as John Ruskin, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led by Edward Whymper, but during the descent, a sudden fall claimed the lives of four of the seven climbers. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world.