Mountains might not be the first thing you think of when asked to imagine a typical Italian landscape, but in truth mountains occupy a whopping three quarters of the country. Italy’s north is where the mountains climb highest, with the majestic Alps stretching for hundreds of miles across the top of the nation and eventually meeting with the beautiful, sculptural peaks of the Dolomites in the northeast. The rest of the Italian peninsula, meanwhile, is dominated by the slightly lower and softer Appennine range, which stretches for six hundred miles from northern to southern Italy.

Lake Braies
Lake Braies: the “pearl of the Dolomites”, one of the most impressive lakes of Trentino Alto Adige region

Summer hiking is hugely popular in Italy, and winter skiing even more so. Many Italians take time out for a wintry “settimana bianca” each year in addition to their long summer holiday. While Italy has some of Europe’s very best ski slopes, the atmosphere in Italian ski resorts is generally friendlier and more relaxed than that of France or Switzerland. Skiers don’t take themselves too seriously, and are chiefly concerned with having communal fun. There’s a lot of eating, drinking, snowy sunbathing, and a lot of smiling faces.

Italy mountains

You’re probably familiar with world-class Alpine resorts such as Courmayeur (Valle d’Aosta region of Italy) and Sestriere (Piedmont) or Dolomite resorts such as Cortina d’Ampezzo (Veneto) and Canazei (Trentino Alto Adige), just to name a few, but in addition to the many wonderful and lesser-known resorts that lie strewn across Italy’s north, you should also be aware that there’s plenty of great skiing to be had further south. Consider, for example, resorts such as Abetone in Tuscany, Febbio in Emilia-Romagna, Campo Imperatore in Abruzzo or even the Sila National Park way down south in Calabria. Just about every region of Italy has a ski area, except Puglia.

Italian ski property represents very good value for money. There are plenty of affordable homes available if you look well, and holiday rental prospects are very good with summer hikers often a possibility in addition to winter skiers. Generally, as you might expect, the more famous the resort, the higher the property prices (and the holiday rental returns). But as famous resorts often sit very near to lesser-known ones, you can always buy in the latter and still pop over to enjoy the slopes and atmosphere of the former. (This applies especially up in the large ski areas of the Alps and Dolomites. Look to small resorts that link to the massive “Milky Way” Alpine ski area, for example.) Or if skiing is just one activity you’d like to pursue from your property, target one of central Italy’s smaller and much cheaper ski resorts, and enjoy the area in its long, hot summer too.

Etna
Skiing on mount Etna with a view

While in more southerly resorts the season can be a bit shorter, in Italy’s north the ski season usually starts in early December and lasts until Easter. You could reasonably expect to fill fifteen weeks a year with ski holiday rentals. Two-bedroom ski apartments are the most popular properties for holiday rental clients, and being close to the lifts or a ski bus is crucial. Gate-Away.com features hundreds of property options for ski-lovers, so the sooner you begin your search, the better!