Balocco 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 Vercelli

Province of Vercelli

Vercelli is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is Vercelli., it has an area of 2,088 km², and a total population of 176,829...

 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 60 km (37.3 mi) northeast 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 20 km (12.4 mi) northwest of Vercelli

Vercelli

Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 273 and an area of 16.7 km². It is the home of the Circuito di Balocco road-testing track.

Balocco borders the following municipalities: Buronzo

Buronzo

Buronzo is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km northwest of Vercelli....

, Carisio

Carisio

Carisio is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km northwest of Vercelli...

, Formigliana

Formigliana

Formigliana is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km northeast of Turin and about 15 km northwest of Vercelli. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 548 and an area of 17.1 km².Formigliana borders the following...

, San Giacomo Vercellese

San Giacomo Vercellese

San Giacomo Vercellese is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 kilometers northeast of Turin and about 20 km northwest of Vercelli...

, and Villarboit

Villarboit

Villarboit is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km northeast of Turin and about 15 km northwest of Vercelli.It is included in the Lame del Sesia Natural Park....

.

Economy

Balocco is the seat of the major proving ground of Fiat Group. The Circuito di Balocco test track was built in the early sixties by Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...

for testing new cars, prototypes and racing cars. In the track is also hosted club and racing organization events.

External links

• The Balocco track