Piemonte · Vercelli
Gattinara
The Alto Piemonte Nebbiolo town on volcanic soil between the Sesia and Monte Rosa, DOCG since 1990, with a tenth-century watchtower above the vines.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Gattinara is on our list
It holds Città del Vino.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 17 min from Milan
- Population
- 7,507
- J8°
- F12°
- M14°
- A18°
- M21°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- 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
Gattinara sits on the right bank of the Sesia, north of Vercelli, in the Alto Piemonte wine zone where Nebbiolo is called Spanna. The hills behind the town are volcanic, the surface gravel pushed up when Africa met Europe and built Monte Rosa sixty million years ago. Romans planted vineyards here in the second century BC.
In 1242, the commune of Vercelli established a borgofranco that became the modern town. In the early sixteenth century Cardinal Mercurino Arborio di Gattinara, Grand Chancellor to Emperor Charles V, served the local wine at his diplomatic dinners in Spain and Flanders; it stayed a court favorite for decades. The Torre delle Castelle, tenth-century watchtower above the vineyards, still stands on the ridge.
Gattinara became Italy's twentieth DOCG in 1990. The wine is at least ninety percent Nebbiolo, aged three years in wood for the riserva, and the bottles age longer than most Barolo because the volcanic minerality slows everything down.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 1 h 22 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 1 h 44 min away.
By car from the center of Genoa 2 h 6 min.
Coming from Milan, Turin or Genoa?
Coming by train into Milano Centrale? Gattinara is about 1 h 18 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Turin airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre delle Castelle
Tenth-century watchtower on the ridge above the vineyards, part of a fortified system that guarded the wine hills.
Castello di San Lorenzo
Medieval fortress on the hill, paired with the Torre delle Castelle as the upper defensive line.
Chiesa di San Pietro
Parish church in the historic center, the religious anchor of the borgofranco founded in 1242.
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.
Cucine NerviRistorante
Cucine Nervi holds two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Osteria ContemporaneaRistorante
Osteria Contemporanea has one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100) to its name.
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?
Gattinara meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 7,507 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Biella, a city of 43,181, is 45 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 7,507, down 7.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Biella, 45 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Borgomanero, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €740 to €1,050 per m² to buy, €3.10 to €4.80 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
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 34% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Milan Malpensa airport (MXP), 52 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 1 h 21 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 308 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 30% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Vercelli province ranks 60th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Borgomanero, 12 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Novara, 27 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Novara, 27 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Como, 55 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is European School Varese, 42 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.05% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.7% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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% in a high or medium one. 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
GATTINARA DOCG
Italy's twentieth DOCG since 1990, Nebbiolo on volcanic soil, aged at least three years in wood for the riserva.
VOLCANIC SOIL
Surface gravel from a Permian super-volcano lifted to the slopes by the Alpine collision, the geology behind the wine.
MERCURINO ARBORIO
Sixteenth-century Grand Chancellor to Charles V, born here, who served Gattinara wine at the imperial diplomatic table.
RISO DI BARAGGIA BIELLESE E VERCELLESE
The commune also lies inside the Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Gattinara known for?
- Gattinara is the Alto Piemonte Nebbiolo town on volcanic soil between the Sesia and Monte Rosa, DOCG since 1990, with a tenth-century watchtower above the vines.
- Where is Gattinara?
- Gattinara is a comune in the province of Vercelli, in Piemonte, at 265 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Gattinara?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Malpensa (MXP), about 52 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Genoa to Gattinara?
- About 2 h 6 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Gattinara?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Gattinara?
- Susa, Pontremoli and Castelnuovo di Porto.
- How many people live in Gattinara?
- 7,507 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Gattinara a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Gattinara is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Biella, is 45 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Borgomanero, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 34% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 265 m
- Population: 7,507
- Surface area: 33.67 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 Gattinara 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 known for their meat within two hours of TurinNear Turinwithin 2 hoursmeat zone7 towns · smallest 126 residents · closest 71 min away
- The best wine towns within 90 minutes of MilanNear Milanwithin 90 minwine zone7 towns · smallest 244 residents · closest 77 min away
- The best hill towns within 90 minutes of NovaraNear Novarahill townwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 454 residents · closest 45 min away
- The best hill towns within 90 minutes of MilanNear Milanhill townwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 244 residents · closest 51 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of NovaraNear Novarawithin 90 minserious restauranteats well10 towns · smallest 1,102 residents · closest 37 min away
Similar
Towns like Gattinara
What all six share with Gattinara: between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns
Susa
Province: Torino
both inland, away from the coast
Pontremoli
Province: Massa-Carrara
both inland, away from the coast
Castelnuovo di Porto
Province: Roma
both inland, away from the coast
Sutri
Province: Viterbo
both inland, away from the coast
- Written about. No. 29.
San Gimignano
Province: Siena
both inland, away from the coast
San Daniele del Friuli
Province: Udine
The letter
Gattinara 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 Gattinara comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 153 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.