Lombardia · Milano
Gorgonzola
The town that gave its name to the cheese, a 21,000-resident commune 24 km east of Milan, where some sources date the first Gorgonzola to AD 879, with three stops on Milan's M2 metro line.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 32 min from Milan
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 21,306
- J8°
- F12°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O19°
- N12°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The commune sits in the Milan metropolitan periphery, its center a short walk from the water. The canal that runs through it was ordered by Francesco Sforza in 1457 and dug from 1460 to connect the Adda river to Milan, and the town grew along its banks as a stop on that route rather than as a self-contained settlement. Some sources date the cheese to 879, the blue veining appears from the 11th century, the written record thickens in the 15th, and by the 19th century it was exported as far as England.
Gorgonzola DOP itself is no longer produced inside the comune. The modern DOP zone covers most provinces of Lombardia and Piemonte, from Bergamo and Brescia to Cuneo and Novara, where the producers' consortium is based. What remains here is the symbolic center: the name, the legend of the first blue-veined curd, and the September Sagra del Gorgonzola that draws producers back to the place their cheese is named for.
The centro storico, the neoclassical church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio, and the canal towpath form the three fixed points of the town, close enough to walk between in an afternoon: the church anchors the piazza, and the water runs past it on its way toward Milan. The food follows the same Lombard-northeast line as the history: risotto alla milanese, polenta uncia, ossobuco, the cheese itself in its sweet or aged forms, and Bonarda from the Oltrepò Pavese to the south. A town that exported its name centuries before it stopped producing the thing itself, and that now keeps the record of that history closer than the cheese itself.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 37 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 1 h 39 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 57 min or Parma 1 h 31 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Milan, Verona or Turin?
Coming by train into Monza? Gorgonzola is about 22 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Milan Bergamo airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Museo del Gorgonzola + Sagra
The town gave its name to the cheese, long sold as stracchino di Gorgonzola. The Pro Loco's Sagra Nazionale del Gorgonzola fills the centro with tastings on the third weekend of September.
Naviglio della Martesana (Greenways)
A 38.7-km canal, no longer navigable, running through the town, with a cycling path along its towpath. The towpath is flat and shaded in places, and the water level stays close to the fields it passes.
Chiesa Prepositurale
1820 neoclassical parish church on the central piazza.
M2 metro from Milan
A half-day out of Milan covers cheese tasting, a walk along the canal, and the museum, all reachable on foot from the same station.
Living here
Could you live here?
Gorgonzola meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 21,306 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Monza, a city of 123,032, is 23 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- 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.
- Population 21,306, up 7.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Monza, 23 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Melzo, 4 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,900 to €2,450 per m² to buy, €7.50 to €10.00 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 80% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Milan Linate airport (LIN), 23 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 32 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Egypt and the Philippines, against 9% across Italy. 54 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France, Germany and Ireland. There are 175 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 10% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Milan province ranks 8th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Melzo, 4 km as the crow flies. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Monza, 12 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Monza, 12 km as the crow flies. There are 14 within 30 km. The nearest school listed as international is BDC School, 10 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 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €12,000. 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 Lombardia spends about €2,410 a month, €510 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €415 a year for water, on the Lombardia average. In Milan, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.26, a meal in a pizzeria €14.09 and a man's haircut €21.97.
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, 5% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
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
GORGONZOLA DOP NAMESAKE
A cheese-making center for centuries; local legend dates the blue veining to AD 879. Annual Sagra mid-September.
Francesco Sforza's 1457 canal to Milan, now a cycling greenway. The classic east-Milan weekend ride.
M2 METRO TERMINUS
Three stops on the Gessate branch of Milan's green line. 32 minutes from Cadorna. Easy half-day from central Milan.
BONARDA + LOMBARD KITCHEN
Risotto alla milanese, polenta uncia, ossobuco, the Gorgonzola itself, Bonarda from the Oltrepò Pavese 60 km south.
Common questions
- What is Gorgonzola known for?
- Gorgonzola is the town that gave its name to the cheese, a 21,000-resident commune 24 km east of Milan, where some sources date the first Gorgonzola to AD 879, with three stops on Milan's M2 metro line.
- Where is Gorgonzola?
- Gorgonzola is a comune in the province of Milano, in Lombardia, at 132 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Gorgonzola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Linate (LIN), about 23 min by car.
- Can you get to Gorgonzola without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Gorgonzola?
- About 57 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Gorgonzola?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Gorgonzola?
- Curtatone, Santarcangelo di Romagna and Collecchio.
- How many people live in Gorgonzola?
- 21,306 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Gorgonzola a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Gorgonzola is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Monza, is 23 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Melzo, 4 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 80% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 132 m
- Population: 21,306
- Surface area: 10.58 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.
Similar
Towns like Gorgonzola
What all six share with Gorgonzola: in the Po valley · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Gorgonzola 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 Gorgonzola comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Rapallo, 132 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.