Lombardia · Brescia
Monte Isola
The largest lake island in southern and central Europe, 4.5 square kilometers in Lake Iseo, with no cars and eleven fishing villages on its shore.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Monte Isola is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 48 min from Brescia
- Population
- 1,587
- J7°
- F10°
- M11°
- A14°
- M18°
- J23°
- J26°
- A26°
- S21°
- O16°
- N11°
- D7°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Monte Isola covers 4.5 square kilometers in the middle of Lake Iseo, the largest lake island in southern and central Europe. Eleven villages and hamlets line the shore and climb the slopes: Peschiera Maraglio and Sensole on the south, Siviano on the north, with smaller settlements between. The Madonna della Ceriola sanctuary stands on the summit, documented in 1410 but built older, holding a twelfth-century wooden sculpture of the Virgin and Child.
No private cars are allowed on the island; mopeds, bicycles and feet are the way around. The Comune still keeps the small island of San Paolo and the privately owned Loreto as part of its territory. Fishing nets are still woven here by hand for use across the lakes of northern Italy, and wooden boats are still built by a handful of craftsmen in Peschiera Maraglio. In summer 2016, Christo and Jeanne-Claude floated their orange piers from Sulzano to the island, drawing 1.2 million visitors in sixteen days.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 4 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 1 h 33 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 48 min.
Coming by train into Brescia? Monte Isola is about 47 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Milan Bergamo airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Santuario della Madonna della Ceriola
Pilgrimage church at the summit, 600 meters above sea level, holding a twelfth-century wooden Virgin and Child and reached only on foot from Cure.
Peschiera Maraglio
Main lake-side village on the south of the island, with the ferry landing, the boatyards and the long stone lakefront facing San Paolo.
Siviano
Capital of the comune on the north of the island, a fortified medieval hamlet with tower houses, narrow streets and the parish church.
Sensole
Lakeside hamlet on the south, the most photographed stretch of shore on the island, looking across to the private island of San Paolo.
Giro dell'isola
Nine-kilometer perimeter route around the island, walked or cycled, with no car traffic and views of the Iseo and Sebino shore.
Living here
Could you live here?
Monte Isola is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,587. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Iseo, is 33 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Brescia, a city of 199,853, is 48 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.
- Population 1,587, down 9.8% since 2015
- Nearest city Brescia, 48 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Iseo, 6 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,450 to €2,000 per m² to buy, €4.40 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
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 98% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Milan Bergamo airport (BGY), 1 h 4 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 1 h 41 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, against 9% across Italy. There are 367 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 51% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Brescia province ranks 28th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Iseo, 6 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Brescia, 23 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Brescia, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is Lonati Anglo-American School, 27 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
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 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 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 Brescia, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.30, a meal in a pizzeria €12.47 and a man's haircut €26.14.
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. 2% 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
NO CARS
Private cars are banned on the island; mopeds, bicycles and feet handle everything from grocery runs to school commutes.
FISHING NETS
Hand-woven fishing nets, still made by a few families on the island, supplied the freshwater lakes of northern Italy for centuries.
FLOATING PIERS
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 2016 orange walkway from Sulzano to the island drew 1.2 million visitors in sixteen days.
Common questions
- What is Monte Isola known for?
- Monte Isola is the largest lake island in southern and central Europe, 4.5 square kilometers in Lake Iseo, with no cars and eleven fishing villages on its shore.
- Where is Monte Isola?
- Monte Isola is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardia, at 262 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Monte Isola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 4 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Monte Isola?
- About 48 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Monte Isola?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 26 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 20 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Monte Isola?
- Gardone Riviera, San Zeno di Montagna and Molveno.
- How many people live in Monte Isola?
- 1,587 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Monte Isola a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Monte Isola is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Iseo, is 33 min away. The nearest city, Brescia, is 48 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Iseo, 6 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 262 m
- Population: 1,587
- Surface area: 12.8 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 Monte Isola appears in
- The prettiest villages in the province of BresciaBrescia provinceprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,103 residents
- The best lake towns in the province of BresciaBrescia provincelake10 towns · smallest 1,103 residents
- The best lake towns within two hours of ParmaNear Parmalakewithin 2 hours10 towns · smallest 1,587 residents · closest 90 min away
Similar
Towns like Monte Isola
What all six share with Monte Isola: lake towns · under 3,000 people
Gardone Riviera
Province: Brescia
1 h 31 min apart by road
San Zeno di Montagna
Province: Verona
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Molveno
Province: Trento
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Orta San Giulio
Province: Novara
Predore
Province: Bergamo
52 min apart by road
Torno
Province: Como
2 h 16 min apart by road
The letter
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