Aosta Valley · Aosta Valley
Donnas
The first DOC of Valle d'Aosta, a Nebbiolo-on-terraces wine town where the Roman Via delle Gallie was carved into living rock.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Donnas is on our list
It holds Città del Vino.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h from Turin
- Population
- 2,392
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M20°
- J24°
- J27°
- A27°
- S22°
- O18°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Donnas sits at the south-eastern mouth of the Aosta Valley, where the Dora Baltea slows and the cliffs close in on the old road. The Romans built the Via delle Gallie through here in the first century BC to connect the Po Valley with Gaul, and a 221-meter stretch of paved road, cut for more than 200 meters directly into the bedrock, still survives with cart-wheel ruts in the stone, a single Roman arch, and a milestone marking the thirty-sixth mile from Augusta Praetoria. The medieval village rebuilt itself against the cliff face after the 1176 landslide that destroyed the older settlement of Treby a kilometer west.
Wine has been documented here since 1200. In 1971, Donnas became the first Valdostan wine to earn DOC status: 85 to 90 per cent Nebbiolo, grown on terraced slopes along the Dora, vinified at the Caves Coopératives de Donnas above the historic center.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 58 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 2 h 13 min away.
By car from the center of Genoa 2 h 21 min.
Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Donnas is about 57 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Turin airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Strada Romana delle Gallie
First-century BC Roman road carved directly into the bedrock for more than 200 meters, with surviving cart-wheel ruts, a single arch and a milestone.
Arco Romano e Miliario
Roman arch cut from the rock and a milestone indicating the XXXVI mile from Augusta Praetoria, anchoring the surviving stretch of the Via delle Gallie.
Borgo storico di Donnas
Medieval village rebuilt against the cliff face after the 1176 landslide that destroyed nearby Treby, with stone houses along the old consular road.
Caves Coopératives de Donnas
Cooperative winery above the historic center, producing the Donnas DOC red wine, first Valdostan denomination, with 85-90 per cent Nebbiolo.
Vigneti terrazzati della Dora
Terraced vineyards stepping up from the Dora Baltea on both banks, the Alpine viticulture landscape that defines the lower valley.
Living here
Could you live here?
Donnas is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,392. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Ivrea, is 30 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Aosta, a city of 33,096, is 50 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.
- Population 2,392, down 7.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Aosta, 50 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Ivrea, 19 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,000 to €1,400 per m² to buy, €3.50 to €5.20 per m² a month to rent
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 89% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Turin airport (TRN), 58 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Aosta, 50 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, Morocco and Albania, against 9% across Italy. There are 272 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 43% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Aosta province ranks 13th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Ivrea, 19 km as the crow flies. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Aosta, 40 km away. The nearest IB school is World International School of Torino, 56 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.81% 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 nothing 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 Aosta Valley spends about €2,570 a month, €530 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €313 a year for water, on the Aosta Valley average. In Aosta, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.12, a meal in a pizzeria €13.45 and a man's haircut €20.20.
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. 5% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 50% in a high or medium one. 21% 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
DONNAS DOC
First DOC in Valle d'Aosta, granted in 1971: a Nebbiolo-led red from terraced slopes around Donnas, Perloz, Pont-Saint-Martin and Bard.
VIA DELLE GALLIE
A 221-meter stretch of first-century BC Roman road carved into the cliff, with cart ruts, a rock-cut arch and the XXXVI-mile milestone from Aosta.
POST-LANDSLIDE BORGO
Medieval village rebuilt against the cliff after the 1176 landslide destroyed Treby a kilometer west, the original settlement of the area.
Common questions
- What is Donnas known for?
- Donnas is the first DOC of Valle d'Aosta, a Nebbiolo-on-terraces wine town at 322 meters where the Roman Via delle Gallie was carved into living rock.
- Where is Donnas?
- Donnas is a comune in the Aosta Valley.
- What is the nearest airport to Donnas?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Turin (TRN), about 58 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Genoa to Donnas?
- About 2 h 21 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Donnas?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 22 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Donnas?
- Agliè, Govone and Moncalvo.
- How many people live in Donnas?
- 2,392 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Donnas a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Donnas is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Ivrea, is 30 min away. The nearest city, Aosta, is 50 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Ivrea, 19 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 89% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 322 m
- Population: 2,392
- Surface area: 33.97 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 Donnas appears in
Similar
Towns like Donnas
What all six share with Donnas: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Donnas 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 Donnas comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 177 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.