Lombardia · Sondrio
Madesimo
A ski village at 1,550 meters at the head of Valle Spluga, with lifts to 2,880 meters and the Canalone, an off-piste descent counted among the most demanding in the Alps.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 2 h 33 min from Milan
- Population
- 507
- J0°
- F3°
- M4°
- A7°
- M12°
- J17°
- J19°
- A19°
- S15°
- O10°
- N5°
- D1°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The village sits at the head of Valle Spluga, near the Splügen Pass and the Swiss border, in the Italian commune that lies farthest from the sea. An underground funicular climbs 1.4 kilometers from Campodolcino to the Motta station at 1,721 meters, the link that ties Campodolcino and Madesimo into a single ski domain rather than two separate villages sharing a road.
Most of the resident population, 507, works in winter tourism, and the rhythm of the place follows the lifts as much as the calendar. Summer changes the traffic rather than the terrain: hikers replace skiers on the way up to the Laghi d'Emet and the high passes toward Switzerland, where the air is clean enough that the Pizzo Stella is visible from the village square on most days. A small year-round population supporting a domain built for winter, and a valley oriented so squarely toward the high ground that even the summer view looks toward the peaks rather than back down the valley, is what the geography of Madesimo comes down to.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 2 h 30 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 3 h 38 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 2 h 57 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Comprensorio sciistico Madesimo
Ski domain from 1,550 to 2,880 meters across 30 runs, served by the funicular link to Motta and the lifts on the peak above the village.
Canalone
A steep natural couloir on Pizzo Groppera, the kind of line where the marked piste ends and the descent is left to the skier's own judgment of the snow.
Cascata del Groppera
Waterfall on the upper Liro near the village, fed by glacier meltwater from the massif above.
Laghi d'Emet
High-altitude lake basin at 2,200 meters above the village, reached by a 2-hour summer hike with refuges nearby.
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.
Il CantinoneRistorante
One Michelin star for Il Cantinone, along with two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
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?
Madesimo is at the end of the road.
- A village of 507. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Chiavenna, is 29 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Lecco, a city of 47,233, is 1 h 41 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 507, down 8% since 2015
- Nearest city Lecco, 1 h 41 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Chiavenna, 13 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €3,800 to €4,600 per m² to buy, €11.80 to €14.60 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 100% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Milan Linate airport (LIN), 2 h 27 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 2 h 33 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. There are 373 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 93% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Sondrio province ranks 23rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Chiavenna, 13 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Lecco, 65 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Gravedona ed Uniti, 33 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Como, 79 km as the crow flies.
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 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 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.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone F, the coldest of Italy's six, with no national limit on when the heating runs. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 4% in a high or medium one. 4% 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
CANALONE
Off-piste couloir on Pizzo Groppera, unmarked and recommended only to expert skiers, counted among the most challenging descents in the Alps.
PIZZO GROPPERA
The 2,948-meter peak above the village, top of the ski domain with cable car access to 2,880 meters.
SPLUGEN HEAD
The commune runs up to the 2,117-meter Splügen Pass on the Swiss border, its frazione of Montespluga just 3 kilometers below it.
Common questions
- What is Madesimo known for?
- Madesimo is a ski village at 1,550 meters at the head of Valle Spluga, with lifts to 2,880 meters and the Canalone, an off-piste descent counted among the most demanding in the Alps.
- Where is Madesimo?
- Madesimo is a comune in the province of Sondrio, in Lombardia, at 1550 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Madesimo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Linate (LIN), about 2 h 27 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Madesimo?
- About 2 h 57 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Madesimo?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 19 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 22 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Madesimo?
- Capracotta, Rivisondoli and Sauris.
- How many people live in Madesimo?
- 507 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Madesimo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Madesimo is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Chiavenna, is 29 min away. The nearest city, Lecco, is 1 h 41 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Chiavenna, 13 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 100% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1550 m
- Population: 507
- Surface area: 85.66 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 Madesimo appears in
- The best hidden ski towns in LombardyLombardiaabove 600 mski areahidden6 towns · smallest 507 residents
- The best towns that eat well in the province of SondrioSondrio provinceeats well6 towns · smallest 507 residents
- The best high-altitude villages in LombardiaLombardiaabove 800 m8 towns · smallest 12 residents
- The best ski towns in LombardiaLombardiaski area10 towns · smallest 507 residents
- The best small towns with a serious restaurant in LombardiaLombardiaserious restaurantsmall10 towns · smallest 507 residents
Similar
Towns like Madesimo
What all six share with Madesimo: high in the mountains · under 1,000 people · mountain towns above 1,000 metres
The letter
Madesimo 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 Madesimo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 232 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.