Piemonte · Torino
Avigliana
A medieval Savoy town at the mouth of the Susa Valley, between two glacial lakes and the abbey on the mountain above.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Avigliana is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione and Comuni Virtuosi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 36 min from Turin
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 12,139
- J8°
- F11°
- M13°
- A17°
- M20°
- J25°
- J28°
- A28°
- S23°
- O18°
- N12°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Avigliana sits in the lower Susa Valley, twenty-five kilometers west of Torino at the point where the Alps meet the Po plain. The first castle on Monte Pezzulano was built in 942 by the Arduinici Marquises of Turin and passed to the Counts of Savoy from 1137; Frederick Barbarossa destroyed it and Thomas I of Savoy rebuilt it, before the French marshal Catinat finally demolished it in 1691. The medieval core that grew below the fortress is still ringed by porticoed houses from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries.
The Chiesa di San Pietro and the Chiesa di San Giovanni hold frescoes spanning the eleventh through the sixteenth century, a run of decoration that outlasted the castle itself. Below the center, two glacial lakes, Lago Grande and Lago Piccolo, sit at 352 and 356 meters in a natural park established in 1980, while the Via Francigena passes through on its way toward the mountain above. What the town adds up to is a settlement built in layers around a single defensible height, with the ruined fortress marking the summit of Savoy power here and the abbey on the neighboring peak marking its longer, still-standing religious counterpart.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 38 min by car.
Genoa (GOA) is about 2 h 11 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 1 h 59 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Turin, Milan or Genoa?
Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Avigliana is about 29 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Turin airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Piazza Conte Rosso
The square that gives the old core its shape, named for Amedeo VII of Savoy and ringed by porticoed houses whose ground floors still trace the medieval street line.
Castello di Avigliana
Ruined Savoy fortress on Monte Pezzulano, built in 942, rebuilt by Thomas I of Savoy and demolished by Marshal Catinat in 1691.
Chiesa di San Pietro
Romanesque church on the road to the lakes, decorated with frescoes from the 11th to the 16th century.
Laghi di Avigliana
Two glacial lakes, Lago Grande (90 ha) and Lago Piccolo (60 ha), sitting below the town inside the natural park.
Sacra di San Michele
The abbey stands on Monte Pirchiriano over the town and was one of the inspirations for the abbey in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
Living here
Could you live here?
Avigliana meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 12,139 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Torino, a city of 853,196, is 36 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
We measured every town in the region on these rules, by its drive to Turin, the city we moved to: Moving to Turin and Piedmont.
- Population 12,139, down 2.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Turin, 36 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Rivoli, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes across the comune: €900 to €1,500 per m² to buy, €4.00 to €7.20 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 9% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Turin airport (TRN), 38 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 36 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 29 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France and Germany. There are 259 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 17% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Turin province ranks 57th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Rivoli, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Turin, 23 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Ciriè, 22 km away. The nearest IB school is World International School of Torino, 19 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.75% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Piemonte spends about €2,240 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €467 a year for water, on the Piemonte average. In Turin, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.38, a meal in a pizzeria €12.25 and a man's haircut €24.17.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 4% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 14% in a high or medium one. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
SACRA DI SAN MICHELE
Abbey on Monte Pirchiriano above town, built 983-987, on the pilgrimage route between Mont Saint-Michel and Monte Sant'Angelo.
LAGHI MORENICI
Two glacial lakes from the Pleistocene retreat, at the heart of the Parco Naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana since 1980.
MEDIEVAL CORE
12th- to 15th-century centro storico around Piazza Conte Rosso, named for Amedeo VII of Savoy, with porticoed Romanesque and Gothic houses.
MARRONE DELLA VALLE DI SUSA
The commune lies inside the Marrone della Valle di Susa IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Avigliana known for?
- Avigliana is a medieval Savoy town at 383 meters at the mouth of the Susa Valley, between two glacial lakes and the abbey on the mountain above.
- Where is Avigliana?
- Avigliana is a comune in the province of Torino, in Piemonte.
- What is the nearest airport to Avigliana?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Turin (TRN), about 38 min by car.
- Can you get to Avigliana without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Avigliana?
- About 1 h 59 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Avigliana?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Avigliana?
- Bra, Venaria Reale and Fiesole.
- How many people live in Avigliana?
- 12,139 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Avigliana a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Avigliana is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Torino, is 36 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Rivoli, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 9% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 383 m
- Population: 12,139
- Surface area: 23.22 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Avigliana appears in
- The best towns known for what they grow within two hours of MilanNear Milanwithin 2 hoursproduce zone6 towns · smallest 4,080 residents · closest 77 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of TurinNear Turinby trainwithin 60 min7 towns · smallest 5,840 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best hill towns within an hour of TurinNear Turinhill townwithin 60 min10 towns · smallest 564 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best towns inside a nature park in PiemontePiemonteinside a park10 towns · smallest 174 residents
Similar
Towns like Avigliana
What all six share with Avigliana: over 10,000 people · hill towns
Bra
Province: Cuneo
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Venaria Reale
Province: Torino
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Fiesole
Province: Firenze
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Monteprandone
Province: Ascoli Piceno
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
- Written about. No. 60.
Magione
Province: Perugia
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Borgo Valbelluna
Province: Belluno
The letter
Avigliana is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Avigliana comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 161 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.