General information about Livigno

If you're going skiing in the Italian Alps, it's worth finding out where Livigno is. The town is nestled in a picturesque valley in the middle of a mountain range in Lombardy in northern Italy. You can only get here through the mountain pass by autobahn; even the nearest train station is 40 km away.

It is difficult to say when Livigno was founded. Shepherds began to settle in the area in the Middle Ages and a small town gradually sprouted up on the site of their homes. Its name comes from the German word "lawine", meaning "avalanche". As it happens, smuggling has long been the main occupation of the locals. In the sixteenth century, the situation was legitimised by declaring Livigno a duty-free zone. This has remained the case until the present day. Livigno is now a duty-free zone. So purchases there, such as ski equipment upgrades, can be very lucrative.

The history of Livigno as a ski resort began in the 1970s, when the first ski lifts were built here. Since then, much has changed. The resort has expanded, combining three mountain villages: San Antonio (St. Antonio), Santa Maria (St. Maria), and San Rocco (St. Rocco). Today, they form a single picturesque alpine-style street with hotels and restaurants. In Livigno, as in the rest of Italy, the official currency is the euro (EUR), used throughout Europe.

The number of slopes and ski lifts in Livigno increases every year, and the total length of the resort’s runs now exceeds 100 km.