Piemonte · Alessandria
Gavi
The Cortese di Gavi town below a Genoese star fortress, where Piemonte white wine was first recorded as Ligurian court tribute in 972.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Gavi is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione, Spighe Verdi and Città del Vino.
Subscribe and you get Gavi's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 54 min from Genoa
- Population
- 4,387
- J8°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O19°
- N12°
- D7°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Gavi sits where the Lemme stream meets the Rio Neirone, the southern edge of Piemonte before the Apennines drop to Genova. The first record of vines here is a 972 tribute paid to the Republic of Genoa, three Genoese pounds of wine. The medieval town clusters along the narrow valley below the Forte di Gavi, a polygonal star fortress built and expanded by the Genoese between 1540 and 1673 on the foundations of a tenth-century castle.
The fort fell to French-Savoyard troops in 1625 and was retaken in twenty-one days; under the Savoy it became a prison, then a prisoner-of-war camp for Austro-Hungarian and later Allied soldiers in both world wars. Cortese di Gavi was made DOC in 1974 and DOCG in 1998. Wine from vines inside the commune may be labeled Gavi di Gavi, and the consortium maintains a separate denomination for grapes grown in the historic center.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 55 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 1 h 59 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 1 h 17 min.
Coming by train into Genova Piazza Principe? Gavi is about 56 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Forte di Gavi
Polygonal star fortress on the hill above the town, built by the Genoese 1540 to 1673, later a Savoy prison and WWI/WWII POW camp.
Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore
Romanesque parish church in the medieval center, with twelfth-century stonework and a baroque interior.
Centro storico
Stone-house old town along the Lemme stream, arcaded streets and small piazzas framed by terraced vineyards.
Vigneti del Cortese
Surrounding hills of Cortese vines that produce Gavi DOCG, the white wine that put the commune on the international map.
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.
La GallinaRistorante
La Gallina holds two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Locanda La RaiaRistorante
Locanda La Raia carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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?
Gavi is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 4,387, with Serravalle Scrivia (5,899 people) 12 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Alessandria, a city of 92,522, is 42 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 4,387, down 5% since 2015
- Nearest city Alessandria, 42 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Novi Ligure, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €520 to €780 per m² to buy, €2.70 to €4.00 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 87% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 55 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 1 h 42 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 10 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 305 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 45% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Alessandria province ranks 70th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Novi Ligure, 9 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Genoa, 28 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Genoa, 28 km away. The nearest IB school is Deledda International School, 34 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Alexandria International School, 29 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
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 0.7% 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. In Alessandria, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.27, a meal in a pizzeria €10.62 and a man's haircut €23.71.
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, 8% in a high or medium one. 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
GAVI DOCG
White wine from 100% Cortese grapes, DOC in 1974, DOCG in 1998, the only Piemonte white traded internationally at scale.
FORTE DI GAVI
Genoese star fortress on the hill, twenty-one days to retake from the French in 1625, a POW camp in both world wars.
972 TRIBUTE
First documented wine tribute to Genoa, three Genoese pounds, the earliest record of vine cultivation in the commune.
Common questions
- What is Gavi known for?
- Gavi is the Cortese di Gavi town below a Genoese star fortress, where Piemonte white wine was first recorded as Ligurian court tribute in 972.
- Where is Gavi?
- Gavi is a comune in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte, at 233 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Gavi?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 55 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Gavi?
- About 1 h 17 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Gavi?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and October the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Gavi?
- Dogliani, Ornavasso and Castagnole delle Lanze.
- How many people live in Gavi?
- 4,387 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Gavi a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Gavi is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Serravalle Scrivia, 12 min). The nearest city, Alessandria, is 42 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Novi Ligure, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 87% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 233 m
- Population: 4,387
- Surface area: 45.04 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 Gavi appears in
- The 6 best hill towns in the province of AlessandriaAlessandria provincehill town6 towns · smallest 454 residents
- The best wine towns within 90 minutes of GenoaNear Genoawithin 90 minwine zone6 towns · smallest 192 residents · closest 47 min away
- The 7 best small wine towns with a serious restaurant in PiemontePiemontewineserious restaurantsmall7 towns · smallest 497 residents
- 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 75 minutes of GenoaNear Genoahill townwithin 75 min8 towns · smallest 626 residents · closest 41 min away
- The best small towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of GenoaNear Genoawithin 90 minserious restauranteats wellsmall9 towns · smallest 351 residents · closest 39 min away
Similar
Towns like Gavi
What all six share with Gavi: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Gavi 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 Gavi comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 46 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.