Liguria · Imperia
Triora
The witches' village at 776 meters in the upper Valle Argentina, where the Inquisition put around 200 women on trial between 1587 and 1589.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Triora is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Città del Pane.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 28 min from Genoa
- Population
- 389
- J8°
- F11°
- M12°
- A14°
- M18°
- J22°
- J25°
- A26°
- S21°
- O17°
- N12°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Triora sits at 776 meters in the upper Valle Argentina, the last comune before the Alpi Liguri turn into French territory. The site was a Genovese stronghold from the thirteenth century, fortified with five castles, three of which still leave traces. Between 1587 and 1589, after two years of failed harvests and famine, the council of elders blamed a group of women living in seclusion in La Cabotina, the poorest quarter, and called in the Inquisition.
Around 200 women were accused, many tortured, some died in custody. Genova intervened to slow the trials; the survivors were eventually freed. The Museo Etnografico e della Stregoneria, in the former prison, holds the documents and reconstructs the herbalism, the famine, and the trial process.
The Pane di Triora is a slow-rising rustic bread baked in wood ovens that keeps for two weeks. Wolves and chamois return to the surrounding ridges.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 2 h 23 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 3 h 20 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 3 h 46 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Museo Etnografico e della Stregoneria
Witchcraft and ethnography museum in the former village prison, with trial documents, herbal knowledge, and a reconstruction of La Cabotina.
La Cabotina
The poorest quarter at the edge of the village, where the women accused of witchcraft in 1587-1589 lived, now a marked walking circuit.
Collegiata di Nostra Signora Assunta
Parish church with a fourteenth-century Baptism of Christ by Taddeo di Bartolo, the oldest dated work in Liguria.
Ruderi del Castello
Surviving fragments of the medieval Genovese castle on the high point of the village, with views into the upper Argentina valley.
Monte Saccarello
At 2,200 meters, the highest peak of Liguria, on the ridge above Triora that marks the French border.
Signature dish
Pane di TrioraBread
A dark, long-keeping sourdough of bran and wheat, baked in the mountain village once tried for witchcraft.
See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.
Living here
Could you live here?
Triora is at the end of the road.
- A village of 389. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Taggia, is 55 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Sanremo, a city of 53,059, is 1 h 4 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 389, up 4.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Sanremo, 1 h 4 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sanremo, 17 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €670 to €900 per m² to buy, €3.10 to €4.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 2 h 23 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 2 h 28 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
27% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, Tunisia and Bangladesh, against 9% across Italy. 20 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the United Kingdom. There are 350 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 85% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Imperia province ranks 80th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sanremo, 17 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Pietra Ligure, 43 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Pietra Ligure, 43 km away. The nearest IB school is Deledda International School, 104 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 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €12,000. 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 Liguria spends about €2,230 a month, €490 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €552 a year for water, on the Liguria 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. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 36% 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
PROCESSO ALLE STREGHE
Between 1587 and 1589 around 200 women were tried by the Inquisition here, one of the largest witch hunts in Italy.
PANE DI TRIORA
Slow-rising rustic loaf baked in wood-fired ovens, with a thick crust that keeps the bread good for two weeks.
ALPI LIGURI
Wolves, chamois, and golden eagles range the ridges above Triora, the upper Argentina valley reaching Monte Saccarello at 2,200 meters.
Common questions
- What is Triora known for?
- Triora is the witches' village at 776 meters in the upper Valle Argentina, where the Inquisition put around 200 women on trial between 1587 and 1589.
- Where is Triora?
- Triora is a comune in the province of Imperia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Triora?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 2 h 23 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Triora?
- About 3 h 46 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Triora?
- Best in May–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 26 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Triora?
- Castel San Vincenzo, Orvinio and Pizzone.
- How many people live in Triora?
- 389 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Triora a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Triora is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Taggia, is 55 min away. The nearest city, Sanremo, is 1 h 4 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sanremo, 17 km as the crow flies.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 776 m
- Population: 389
- Surface area: 67.61 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 Triora appears in
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park in LiguriaLiguriainside a parkprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 389 residents
- The prettiest small villages in the province of ImperiaImperia provinceprettiest villagessmall9 towns · smallest 284 residents
- The 10 smallest villages in LiguriaLiguriasmall10 towns · smallest 126 residents
- The best small towns inside a nature park in LiguriaLiguriainside a parksmall10 towns · smallest 351 residents
Similar
Towns like Triora
What all six share with Triora: under 1,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
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