Piemonte · Asti
Cocconato
A Monferrato ridge town with a microclimate mild enough to grow palms and olives this far north.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Cocconato is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Città del Vino.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 57 min from Turin
- Population
- 1,399
- J7°
- F10°
- M13°
- A16°
- M20°
- J25°
- J28°
- A28°
- S22°
- O17°
- N11°
- D7°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Cocconato sits thirty kilometers east of Torino, on a ridge whose south-facing slope catches enough sun to keep olives, palms and mimosas alive this far north, the reason locals call the area the Riviera del Monferrato. From the tenth century the ridge was held by the Radicati counts, a Manfredian family, as an imperial fief for four hundred years, until 1586: the centro storico that survives is their seat, not a later reconstruction. The town's two anchors sit close together but answer to different authorities.
The civic palace, built in the fifteenth century, faces the seventeenth-century parish church of Santa Maria della Consolazione across the upper piazza, government and religion holding opposite ends of the same small square. Beyond the built center, the ridge opens onto a belvedere looking south across vineyards toward the Alta Langa and, on clear days, the Monviso massif. Since 1970 the six frazioni of Airali, Brina, Colline Magre, San Carlo, Torre and Tuffo have raced their donkeys in the Palio degli Asini, a modern rivalry laid over an old administrative one. Cocconato holds the Bandiera Arancione, a fitting distinction for a ridge that has been organizing the same handful of parts, fief, palace, church, frazioni, for centuries.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 1 h 2 min by car.
Genoa (GOA) is about 1 h 53 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 1 h 52 min.
Coming from Turin, Milan or Genoa?
Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Cocconato is about 59 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Turin airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Palazzo Comunale
Pointed-arch porticoes and terracotta-framed windows on the Late Gothic facade, still the building the ridge town organizes itself around.
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione
Seventeenth-century parish church anchoring the upper piazza, the religious counterweight to the medieval civic palace below it.
Centro storico
Medieval ridge town that was the seat of the Radicati counts from the tenth century until 1586, well preserved on the south-facing slope.
Belvedere sul Monferrato
Panoramic viewpoint on the ridge, looking south across the vineyards toward the Alta Langa and on clear days the Monviso massif.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Cantina NicolaRistorante
Cantina Nicola carries two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100).
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Cocconato is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,399. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Crescentino, is 32 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Asti, a city of 73,440, is 35 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 1,399, down 8.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Asti, 35 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Chivasso, 17 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €530 to €780 per m² to buy, €2.10 to €3.10 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 65% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Turin airport (TRN), 1 h 2 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 57 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
12% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Brazil, against 9% across Italy. There are 299 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 46% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Asti province ranks 54th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Chivasso, 17 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Turin, 29 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Chieri, 20 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Turin, 22 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.99% 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 0.8% to your income tax. 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.
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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. Under 1% 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
RIVIERA DEL MONFERRATO
Microclimate on the south-facing ridge mild enough for palms, olives and mimosas at 491 meters in northern Piedmont.
GOTHIC PALAZZO
Fifteenth-century Palazzo Comunale in Late Gothic civil style, a rarity in Piedmont and the town's architectural signature.
PALIO DEGLI ASINI
Donkey race held since summer 1970 between the six frazioni of Airali, Brina, Colline Magre, San Carlo, Torre and Tuffo.
BARBERA D'ASTI
The commune also lies inside the Barbera d'Asti DOCG production zone.
Common questions
- What is Cocconato known for?
- Cocconato is a Monferrato ridge town at 491 meters with a microclimate mild enough to grow palms and olives this far north.
- Where is Cocconato?
- Cocconato is a comune in the province of Asti, in Piemonte.
- What is the nearest airport to Cocconato?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Turin (TRN), about 1 h 2 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Cocconato?
- About 1 h 52 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Cocconato?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Cocconato?
- Cortemilia, Montone and Lugnano in Teverina.
- How many people live in Cocconato?
- 1,399 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Cocconato a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Cocconato is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Crescentino, is 32 min away. The nearest city, Asti, is 35 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Chivasso, 17 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 65% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 491 m
- Population: 1,399
- Surface area: 16.52 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 Cocconato appears in
- The best hill towns in the province of AstiAsti provincehill town6 towns · smallest 192 residents
- The best wine towns within an hour of TurinNear Turinwithin 60 minwine zone6 towns · smallest 564 residents · closest 45 min away
- The prettiest villages that eat well in PiemontePiemonteeats wellprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 617 residents
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of TurinNear Turinwithin 60 mineats well7 towns · smallest 564 residents · closest 28 min away
- The prettiest villages within 90 minutes of TurinNear Turinwithin 90 minprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 102 residents · closest 57 min away
- The 10 best hidden wine towns that eat well within 90 minutes of TurinNear Turinwinewithin 90 mineats wellhidden10 towns · smallest 497 residents · closest 57 min away
Featured on
Cocconato appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Cocconato
What all six share with Cocconato: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Cocconato 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 Cocconato comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 120 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.