Trentino-Alto Adige · Trento
Tenno
A hillside commune above Lake Garda where a medieval stone hamlet, a turquoise lake and the northernmost olive groves in Europe sit within reach of each other.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Tenno is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Bandiera Blu.
Subscribe and you get Tenno's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 43 min from Trento
- Population
- 2,061
- J6°
- F10°
- M12°
- A16°
- M20°
- J24°
- J27°
- A27°
- S22°
- O17°
- N11°
- D6°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Tenno sits on the slope above Riva del Garda, on the old road that climbed from the Sarca valley toward the Giudicarie. The territory wraps the upper end of the lake, and the south-facing slopes carry vineyards and olive terraces up toward the settlements above. Two places anchor the commune, a few kilometers apart.
A fortress holds the high ground on a rocky outcrop, built over an older prehistoric site and positioned to watch the road below. North of it, the hamlet keeps to its four streets and a square, stone houses joined by arches, close enough to the mountain lake that the walk between them takes half an hour. The olive groves run along the slopes between all of them, the northern edge of a growing tradition that has otherwise moved south with the climate. What holds the commune together is elevation: a hilltop position that let a fortress watch the valley road, a hamlet keep its shape for centuries, and olives ripen further north than anywhere else that grows them by tradition.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 1 h 31 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 2 h 9 min away.
By car from the center of Trento 43 min or Bolzano 1 h 21 min.
Coming by train into Trento? Tenno is about 44 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Verona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Canale di Tenno
Arched passages tie the stone houses together over the road, and the four streets still converge on the same small square the hamlet was built around.
Castello di Tenno
Fortress on a rocky outcrop above the Sarca valley, raised over the remains of a prehistoric site, once controlling the road between Garda and the Giudicarie. The view runs down to the lake below.
Lago di Tenno
The water sits at 570 meters, still enough to show its color, with a small island near the center and the reserve's paths tracing the shoreline.
Rustico Medioevo
Two-week medieval festival every August, with concerts, theater, craft demonstrations and meals served inside the hamlet's stone houses.
Olive groves of Garda Trentino
Terraced groves climb the south-facing slopes toward Tenno and Ville del Monte, marking the edge of the world's northernmost traditional olive zone.
Living here
Could you live here?
Tenno is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 2,061, with Riva del Garda (17,782 people) 12 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Trento, a city of 118,640, is 43 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 2,061, up 0.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Trento, 43 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Arco, 6 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,550 to €1,750 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 92% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 1 h 31 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Trento, 43 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Germany, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 40 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 186 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 45% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Trento province ranks 1st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Arco, 6 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Trento, 27 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Trento, 27 km away. The nearest IB school is International School Brescia, 55 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
Trento has its own property tax, IMIS, in place of IMU. 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 Trentino-Alto Adige spends about €2,620 a month, €500 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €302 a year for water, on the Trentino-Alto Adige average. In Trento, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.41, a meal in a pizzeria €13.90 and a man's haircut €24.84.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone F, the coldest of Italy's six, with no national limit on when the heating runs. 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 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
CANALE DI TENNO
Medieval hamlet of fifty residents in the Borghi più belli network, four streets and a square, first documented in 1211 and preserved intact.
LAKE TENNO
Turquoise mountain lake at 570 meters with a central island, a local nature reserve, half an hour on foot from Canale di Tenno.
NORTHERNMOST OLIVES
Part of the Garda Trentino zone, the world's northernmost traditional olive oil region at forty-six degrees north.
Common questions
- What is Tenno known for?
- Tenno is a hillside commune above Lake Garda where a medieval stone hamlet, a turquoise lake and the northernmost olive groves in Europe sit within reach of each other.
- Where is Tenno?
- Tenno is a comune in the province of Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige, at 428 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Tenno?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 1 h 31 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Trento to Tenno?
- About 43 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Tenno?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 18 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Tenno?
- Cantiano, Pienza and Esanatoglia.
- How many people live in Tenno?
- 2,061 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Tenno a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Tenno is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Riva del Garda, 12 min). The nearest city, Trento, is 43 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Arco, 6 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 92% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 428 m
- Population: 2,061
- Surface area: 28.3 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 Tenno appears in
- The best hill towns in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigehill town6 towns · smallest 2,061 residents
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of TrentoNear Trentohill townwithin 75 min6 towns · smallest 2,061 residents · closest 4 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of TrentoTrento provinceprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 266 residents
- The prettiest small villages within 90 minutes of TrentoNear Trentowithin 90 minprettiest villagessmall9 towns · smallest 266 residents · closest 42 min away
Similar
Towns like Tenno
What all six share with Tenno: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Tenno 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 Tenno comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 137 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.