OECD Reviews of Regional Innovation: Piedmont Italy 2009 Piedmont is one of the top ten manufacturing regions in Europe and enjoys the highest levels of business investment in R&D in Italy. Birthplace of the most famous Italian automotive company Fiat – and home to many heavy engineering and manufacturing firms the region has long been a central part of the national industrial core. Yet since the early 1970s the fragility of Piedmonts production system has slowly became evident. This report reviews how Piedmont’s new regional strategy supports innovation and how its efforts can be improved.