Bormio (, , ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the

Province of Sondrio The province of Sondrio (), also known as Valtellina (the major valley of the province) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2024, it has a population of 179,165. History The prov ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

region of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. The centre of the upper

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

valley, it is a popular winter sports resort. It was the site of the

Alpine World Ski Championships The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). History The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. It consisted of Downhill (ski competition), ...

in 1985 and 2005, and annually hosts the Alpine Ski World Cup. In addition to modern skiing facilities, the town is noted for the presence of several hot springs that have been tapped to provide water to three

thermal bath A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring (hydrology), spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and Hot spring, ...

Geography

Bormio lies in the northeast of the

region at the top of the Valtellina, a broad

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

formed by the Adda River that flows down into

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

. It is linked to other valleys via four passes: *

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

via the Stelvio Pass * Val Müstair via the Umbrail Pass *

Livigno Livigno (; local ; ) is a town, ''comune'' and a special-administered territory in the province of Sondrio, in the region of Lombardy, Italy, located in the Italian Alps, near the Swiss border. History Livigno's first settlers were probably sh ...

via the Foscagno Pass *

Ponte di Legno Ponte di Legno (Camunian dialect, Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 1,729 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Geography Situated at the confluence of the two source rivers (Frigidolfo and Narcanello) of the Ogli ...

via the Gavia Pass

History

Due to its thermal baths at ''Bagni Vecchi'', ''Bagni Nuovi'' and ''Terme di Bormio'', Bormio has long been a tourist attraction. Members of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

aristocracy already travelled to Bormio in order to enjoy warm baths in the mountainous scenery. Most of these thermal baths are still in use today. The town is centred on the historic Piazza Cavour and Via Roma, a historic main trading point on the route from

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Bormio retains its unique

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

town centre, attracting many tourists, mainly Italian, from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and other cities. It will host alpine skiing in the

2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...

Alpine skiing

The village hosted the

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). History The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. It consisted of Downhill (ski competition), ...

twice, in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, both cohosted with Santa Caterina di Valfurva. There are of marked ski runs, the longest run of which is , served by fifteen lifts and several ski schools. Bormio is a regular stop on the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

circuit, usually with a men's downhill in late December. The Pista Stelvio, named after Stelvio Pass, is one of the most challenging downhill courses in the world; it is second-longest on the World Cup circuit, behind only the Lauberhorn in Wengen,

. For the World Cup race in December

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, the Stelvio started at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of , with a vertical drop of and course length of . The winning time of Italian Dominik Paris was just under two yielding an average speed of and a vertical descent rate of over per second.

Main sights

* Giardino Botanico Alpino "Rezia"

Notable People

* Fausto Bormetti, cross-country skier. * Marco De Gasperi, 6-times World Champion runner * Stefano Donagrandi, ice speed skater * Francesca Martinelli, ski mountaineer * Oreste Peccedi, Head Coach of the Italian National Ski Team from 1970 to 1976 * Aldo Pedrana, Olympic skier *

Roberta Pedranzini Roberta Pedranzini (born 21 August 1971) is an Italian ski mountaineer. Pedranzini was born in Bormio. She started ski mountaineering in 2000 and competed first in the ''Giro del Monviso'' race in 2003. She has been member of the Italian nationa ...

, ski mountaineer * Erminio Sertorelli, Olympic skier * Giacinto Sertorelli, Olympic skier * Stefano Sertorelli, Olympic skier * Mara Urbani, Short track speed skater

Twin cities and towns

Bormio is twinned with: * Huez,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, since 2005. *

Bansko Bansko ( ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Blagoevgrad Oblast near the city of Razlog. Once mainly a stockbreeding and travelling merchant community, the town is now an international centre for winter and summer tourism. More rec ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, since 2023. * Bellpuig,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, since 2002.

References

External links

Bormio.euBormio.itBormio3.itTherme in BormioCollection of videos of skiing in BormioSci Club BormioOfficial Site of the Ski AreasOfficial Site of the Bormio Tourist Office

Alta Valtellina TourismAlta Rezia News Paper online

Bormio ski resort guide, news&events...
{{authority control Cities and towns in Lombardy Ski areas and resorts in Italy Spa towns in Italy Venues of the 2026 Winter Olympics