Skiing in Italy offers a combination of snow, sun and the specific Italian “dolce vita”. There is a sense of uniqueness involved in skiing on the sunny side of the European Alps. Italy is not only a European nation full of Mediterranean beaches and historical cities and towns but also one of major mountains. Indeed some of the highest mountains of the entire Alps are to be found in Italy. Italy shares the Mont Blanc (which is called Monte Bianco in Italy), Monte Rosa and even the Matterhorn (Monte Cervino), the quintessential Swiss mountain, with its neighbors. And all these fabulous mountains constitute the environment for one of the best skiing in Europe.

Skiing is a popular sport especially so in Northern Italy around the large, rich cities like Turino, Milano, Verano etc. Each weekend whole Italian families travel to the ski resorts in the Italian Alps (and to a somewhat lesser degree to the ski resorts of theAppennine mountains).

The combination of the specific Italian way of life with the stunning alpine environments gives skiing in Italy its uniqueness and its very special feeling. Add in the cultural heritage which is to be found even in remote alpine valleys and your ski trip to Italy will give you the experience of your lifetime.

The mountaineering village Courmayeur in the Aosta valley is the Italian pendant to Chamonix, its famous French neighbor just on the other side of the huge Mont Blanc massif (connected with a road tunnel). Its main ski area around the Cresta d'Arp attracts many skiers not only from the urban agglomeration of Torino but especially from England giving the village a somewhat “posh” feeling. Just like Chamonix, Courmayeur offers not only countless groomed ski runs but also amazing freeride terrain (off-piste) in the incredible landscape around the Mont Blanc. The off-piste routes around the Pointe Helbronner offer high-mountain skiing in glacier terrain and can be seen as part of the huge Chamonix freeride area.

Cervinia (province Aosta) is a high-mountain resort (2050m) located on the foot of the famous Matterhorn, or the Cervin as it is called in Italy. Its recently modernized lift system is connected with the Zermatt ski area and offers even year-round skiing on the glaciers beneath the Matterhorn.

Sestriere in the Italian province of Piedmont is a typical planned ski resort at a high alpine pass near the French border. The landmark of Sestriere are its characteristic cylindrical tower-like hotels which have been financed by Giovanni Agnelli senior, industrial baron of Fiat in the 1930s. Today Sestriere is part of a huge integrated lift system named Via Lattea (Milky Way). This lift system which connects several ski areas of various villages and ski resorts boasts about 90 lifts and approximately 400 kilometre. The Via Lattea hosted some of the alpine ski races during the 2006 olympic winter games of Torino.

Bormio is a small town with ancient roots located in the Valltellin. The Bormio region was host of the FIS world alpine ski championship and thus its lift system got updated to modern standards. With the highest lifts going up to just over 3000m it boast a maximum vertical drop of amazing 2000 m. Not far from Bormio is Livigno, a small alpine village completely surrounded by mountains. Today Livigno boasts a modern ski area mainly above the treeline with a total of more than 100 km of groomed ski runs.

Madonna di Campiglio is part of a huge lift system stretching over a bunch of mountains and valleys. Located between the rocky Brenta Dolomites and the glacieted mountains of the Adamello massif its ski runs offer amazing views over some of the most spectacular mountains of the Alps. The ski area boasts about 60 lifts and more than 150 km of ski runs. Madonna di Campiglio is also famous for its high life celebrated by fashionable Milanese people each weekend during the whole winter. Val di Sole / Passo Tonale is located just north of the Adamello mountain massif and boasts groomed runs for all abilities as well as some fine off-piste terrain. The recent integration of various hitherto separate ski areas made a large boost for this area which increasingly attracts international visitors as well.

Perhaps the most famous ski region in Italy is located in the stunning Dolomites. The Dolomiti Superski is a huge ski region which encompass almost 500 lifts and almost 1000 km of groomed ski runs, though not all different areas are interconnected by lifts. In 1956 the winter Oympic winter games where hosted in this region making the little town of Cortina d'Ampezzo to a brand name almost worldwide recognized. The pathbreaking views to the rocky spires of the Dolomiti mountains attract not only thousands of alpine skiers but cross country skiers, hikers and sight seers as well. Cortina and its surrounding mountains featured even in one of the James Bond films of the 1970s.

As in all alpine countries in Europe there are many smaller ski resorts to be discovered off the beaten tracks. These ski resorts offer a truly authentic Italian-style of skiing. Some of them like Alagna-Valsesia (Aosta) have been recently discovered by the international crowds while others are almost unknown out of Italy. Those hidden gems of skiing are not only found in the various alpine provinces of Italy (Piedmont, Aosta, Lombardia, Trento, Alto Adige, Friuli, Veneto) but also in the Appennine mountains. Even the island of Sicily boasts some ski resorts at the volcanic slopes of the Etna.