Piemonte · Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Mergozzo
A village on the western shore of a small lake cut off from its larger neighbor by river sediment, with a centuries-old elm on its lakefront piazza.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Mergozzo is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione.
Subscribe and you get Mergozzo's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 20 min from Milan
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 2,139
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J28°
- A28°
- S23°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The lake is 74 meters deep and sits, separated in antiquity from its larger neighbor when sediment from the Toce river closed the channel between them. The village faces the water from the western shore, folded behind a lakefront piazza where the parish church holds a painting from 1623 already showing the elm that gives the square its character. Behind the piazza, narrow stone-paved lanes called strece climb toward terraced gardens, the houses built of the same granite quarried on neighboring Montorfano hill.
Stone has long been the local economy, tying Mergozzo to the wider region: the same quarries that cut the lanes' paving supplied material used in Rome and across northern Italy. Trailheads above the village lead into Val Grande, so the same slopes that shelter the piazza from behind also open, higher up, onto one of the wildest valley systems in the Alps. What holds the place together is this stacking of scales: a small, closed-off lake at the bottom, a worked hillside of stone above it, and beyond that, wilderness.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 48 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 1 h 49 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 2 h 10 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Milan, Turin or Genoa?
Coming by train into Milano Centrale? Mergozzo is about 1 h 20 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Milan Bergamo airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
L'Olmo di Mergozzo
Hollow-trunked field elm on the lakefront piazza, still standing and shading the square it has watched over for generations.
Lago di Mergozzo
2.5 km lake separated from Lago Maggiore by Toce sediment, motorboat-free and ranked among Europe's cleanest waters.
Centro storico
Stone-paved lanes (strece) and granite houses climbing the slope behind the lakefront piazza.
Cave di Montorfano
White granite quarries on the adjacent Montorfano hill, source of the stone used for the Vittoriano in Rome.
Parco Nazionale Val Grande
Italy's largest wilderness area, with trailheads above the village into one of the wildest valley systems in the Alps.
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 Fugascina RistoranteRistorante
La Fugascina Ristorante has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
La QuartinaRistorante
La Quartina carries 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?
Mergozzo is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,139. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Gravellona Toce, is 22 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Verbania, a city of 29,953, is 22 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.
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 2,139, down 3.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Verbania, 22 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Verbania, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,300 to €1,900 per m² to buy, €4.40 to €6.40 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 97% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Milan Malpensa airport (MXP), 58 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 1 h 49 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, Morocco and Senegal, against 9% across Italy. 11 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 278 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 40% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province ranks 61st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Verbania, 8 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Varese, 32 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Varese, 32 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Como, 52 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is European School Varese, 31 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% 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 0.8% 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.
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. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 22% in a high or medium one. 9% 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
THE SMALL LAKE
Closed off from Lago Maggiore by river sediment, motor-free and clean enough for swimming straight off the piazza.
L'OLMO
The four-century elm on the lakefront piazza, recognized as a monumental tree of Piemonte and the symbol of the village.
GRANITE
Mergozzo and Montorfano supplied the white granite for the Vittoriano in Rome and the green serizzo used across the north.
OSSOLANO
The commune lies inside the Ossolano DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Mergozzo known for?
- Mergozzo is a village on the western shore of a small lake cut off from its larger neighbor by river sediment, with a centuries-old elm on its lakefront piazza.
- Where is Mergozzo?
- Mergozzo is a comune in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in Piemonte, at 204 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Mergozzo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Malpensa (MXP), about 58 min by car.
- Can you get to Mergozzo 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 Mergozzo?
- About 2 h 10 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Mergozzo?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 20 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Mergozzo?
- Dervio, Porto Ceresio and Ghiffa.
- How many people live in Mergozzo?
- 2,139 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Mergozzo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Mergozzo is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Gravellona Toce, is 22 min away. The nearest city, Verbania, is 22 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Verbania, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 97% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 204 m
- Population: 2,139
- Surface area: 27 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 Mergozzo appears in
- The best cheese towns within 90 minutes of MilanNear Milanwithin 90 mincheese zone6 towns · smallest 1,679 residents · closest 66 min away
- The best lake towns that eat well within 90 minutes of NovaraNear Novaralakewithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 1,102 residents · closest 46 min away
- The best small lake towns in PiemontePiemontelakesmall7 towns · smallest 450 residents
- The 8 best towns you can reach by train in the province of Verbano-Cusio-OssolaVerbano-Cusio-Ossola provinceby train8 towns · smallest 450 residents
- The best lake towns in the province of Verbano-Cusio-OssolaVerbano-Cusio-Ossola provincelake8 towns · smallest 450 residents
- The best lake towns you can reach by train in PiemontePiemontelakeby train8 towns · smallest 450 residents
Featured on
Mergozzo appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Mergozzo
What all six share with Mergozzo: lake towns · hill towns
Dervio
Province: Lecco
both under 3,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Porto Ceresio
Province: Varese
both under 3,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Ghiffa
Province: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
both under 3,000 people
Torno
Province: Como
both under 3,000 people
Orta San Giulio
Province: Novara
both under 3,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Cannero Riviera
Province: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
40 min apart by road
The letter
Mergozzo 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 Mergozzo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 187 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.