Veneto · Verona
Soave
A walled wine town twenty kilometers east of Verona, where Garganega vineyards climb to a Scaligeri castle above the rooftops.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Soave is on our list
It holds Borgo dei Borghi, Bandiera Arancione and Città del Vino.
Subscribe and you get Soave's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 33 min from Verona
- Population
- 7,150
- J8°
- F11°
- M14°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O19°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Soave sits at forty meters at the foot of the Lessini hills, twenty kilometers east of Verona, on the eastern edge of the city's territory. The walls that ring the centro storico enclose the town below the hill; the castle stands above it on its own rise, so the fortified circuit at street level and the fortress on the height read as two separate defensive works from two different periods, joined by the same walled perimeter that ties the lower town to the slope. The first defensive works on the hill went up against Hungarian raids, long before the walls around the town itself were added.
The 7,000 inhabitants share their name with 7,000 hectares of Soave DOC, planted across thirteen communes east of Verona, with a minimum of seventy percent Garganega grape. Palazzo Cavalli, built in 1411, faces the Piazza dell'Antenna inside the walls, the civic and commercial center of the walled settlement below the castle. The town's name marks both the place and the wine grown around it in roughly equal measure, a fortified hill settlement whose economy and identity now run on the vineyards spreading from its base.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 47 min by car.
Treviso (TSF) is about 1 h 24 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 53 min or Brescia 1 h 9 min.
Driving in is restricted: there is a limited traffic zone here (ZTL Centro Storico). Check the signs and the times before you drive into the center.
Coming by train into Vicenza? Soave is about 32 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Verona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Scaligero
Tenth-century fortress on Colle Tenda, rebuilt by the Della Scala family with a keep and three concentric courtyards, in continuous restoration.
Mura di Soave
1,600 meters of walls with twenty-four towers and three gates, built in 1379 under Cansignorio della Scala, encircling the entire centro storico.
Palazzo Cavalli
Venetian-Gothic palace built in 1411 by Captain Nicolò Cavalli, on the Piazza dell'Antenna, with a façade typical of the Veneto mainland.
Piazza dell'Antenna
Main square of the walled town, named for the Venetian standard pole that once flew the lion of San Marco in front of Palazzo Cavalli.
Vigneti di Soave
Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave vineyards across 7,000 hectares of DOC, with the Superiore DOCG zone granted in 2001.
Signature product
Soave Classico DOCG
Garganega-based white wine from the volcanic hills east of Verona.
See the towns we cover in the zone of Soave Classico DOCG.
Living here
Could you live here?
Soave meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 7,150 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Verona, a city of 255,039, is 33 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 7,150, up 1.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Verona, 33 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital San Bonifacio, 4 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,100 to €1,600 per m² to buy
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 18% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 47 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 1 h 10 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 17 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 193 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 19% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Verona province ranks 7th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in San Bonifacio, 4 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Verona, 19 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Verona, 19 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Verona, 22 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 0.86% 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 between 0.3% and 0.7% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €7,500. 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 Veneto spends about €2,310 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €490 a year for water, on the Veneto average. In Verona, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.25, a meal in a pizzeria €11.58 and a man's haircut €22.03.
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. 23% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 34% 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
SOAVE DOC
7,000 hectares of Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave across thirteen communes; the Superiore DOCG zone was granted in 2001.
CASTELLO SCALIGERO
Tenth-century castle on Colle Tenda, rebuilt by the Della Scala family, with keep and three concentric courtyards above the walled town.
BORGO DEI BORGHI 2022
Won the RAI Kilimangiaro prize as Italy's most beautiful borgo in 2022, the first Venetian commune to take the title.
Common questions
- What is Soave known for?
- Soave is a walled wine town twenty kilometers east of Verona, where Garganega vineyards climb to a Scaligeri castle above the rooftops.
- Where is Soave?
- Soave is a comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto, at 40 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Soave?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 47 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Soave?
- About 53 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Soave?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Soave?
- Montagnana, Volta Mantovana and Fontanellato.
- How many people live in Soave?
- 7,150 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Soave a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Soave is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Verona, is 33 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in San Bonifacio, 4 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 18% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 40 m
- Population: 7,150
- Surface area: 22.72 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.
Featured on
Soave appears on 2 themed picks from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Soave
What all six share with Soave: in the Po valley · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.