Australia's elite athletes could be spending half the year based in northern Italy if the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is successful in its quest to establish a satellite centre in Europe.

AIS director Michael Scott said the mooted centre would be based in Varese, in the foothills of the Alps near the Swiss border, and would offer Australian athletes accommodation, access to sports scientists, training facilities and storage for equipment like boats, sails and masts.

The AIS has identified as a problem a lack of support for Australian athletes in Europe, where many world championships, world cups and major international competitions are held during the Australian winter.

"We actually have to look at better ways of supporting our athletes in Europe," Scott said.

"We have a lot of athletes that travel over there in small groups or individually or we already have teams there.

"If they're training over there for extended periods of time, we need to make sure there is a comparable level of support for them.

"We're examining ... the concept of setting up an AIS base in Europe."

Scott said an AIS based in Varese would serve two functions, as a hub for athletes to use as a recovery and training centre and as a permanent training base for athletes to take advantage of the northern summer.

He said the AIS had explored sites in France, Switzerland and other parts of Italy but opted for Varese as its preferred choice.

The town of 85,000 people was home to some of Australia's track and field, cycling and rowing teams during the lead up to the Athens Olympics.

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