(ANSA) - TURIN - Piedmont's winter season officially kicks off on December 2, with dozens of holiday offers for the Christmas period and beyond. These range from charter flights between Turin's Caselle airport and various European countries, through to classic ski destinations in the region's most sought-after resorts.

Non-Italian vacationers will be encouraged to visit Piedmont's mountains with flight links to eight of the UK's largest cities, Ireland, Sweden, Israel, Russia (five locations, each catered to by a different airline) and Poland (with LOT Airlines, who will fly between Turin and Katowice each Saturday). The Susa Valley's Olympic mountains will boast many special offers, including accommodation plus skipass in the Via Lattea and Bardonecchia, with prices starting from 248 euros per person in January. Another popular offer is free accommodation for children under 12, which runs in Bardonecchia in the month of January for one to two children for every two adults, with prices for the adult couple starting at 759 euros. In Valsesia, Alagna has a number of special deals, including a discount of up to 15% for those booking at least two nights' accommodation (''Chi dorme non piglia sconti'') and a 50% discount for those staying at least five nights (''Free Sky'').

Mt. Rosa's ''Neveazzurra'' offer allows skiers to use all the lifts on the mountain with a single skipass. The Piedmont chapter of the Italian Mountaineering Club (CAI) is running a number of special courses for the winter months, including climbing and snow-shoeing. The competition ''Premio Fedelta' Rifugi'' also continues this year.

The Cuneo and Biella offers include Gogolandia Village for children, with 80 kilometres of slopes for adults, while Mondole Ski in Frabosa boasts 130 kilometres of slopes with its own parks for children. Children under 14 ski for free on the Zegna skipass in the heart of the Biella Snow Park. The mountains are ''also coming to the city'' to mark the start of the ski season, which gets under way between December 2 and 8 in different resorts. A promotional vehicle will tour the main towns in Piedmont, with a recent stop in Turin's Piazza Castello. The event is promoted by the Piedmont regional government, Arpiet sector associations and Cuneo Neve. (ANSA).