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Apricale: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Imperia, Liguria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Apricale

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Via Martiri della Liberta' 1, Apricale.

Apricale, a stone village inland from Bordighera

Stone houses packed together along a ridge, stepped lanes, the Castello della Lucertola at the top and the church square in the middle: Apricale is a village in the hinterland of western Liguria, behind Bordighera and Ventimiglia, in a side valley of the Nervia. The coast is a short drive away, but the village keeps a hill-country pace.

The most striking figure concerns who lives here. Foreign residents make up 24.5% of the population. There are 11.46 bars and restaurants per 1,000 residents, against 8.54 in the province of Imperia. Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 611 residents in 2023, 2.2% fewer than in 2011, with an average age of 49.1 against 48.7 in the province. Average declared income is below the provincial level.

Buying in the old village means accepting pedestrian access, stairs and tight spaces, and checking for damp, roofs and walls shared with the neighbours. Outside the centre there are rural buildings among terraces and woods, where the access road and slope matter. The report measures elevation and gradient at the address and checks the official landslide and flood maps.

Western Liguria has a moderate earthquake hazard. Apricale is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection (Protezione Civile) classification, like 36 municipalities in the province, while 30 are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.156 g: in old houses it is worth having an engineer check the walls and floors.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report links the address to its land parcel and building.

Key points

  • Stone village inland from Bordighera and Ventimiglia.
  • Foreign residents at 24.5%.
  • 611 residents, down 2.2% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.156 g.

Overview

Apricale is a municipality in the province of Imperia, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 611 residents, ranked 37 of 66 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Apricale is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (36 of 66) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.156 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 2.2%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 24.5% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Apricale declared an average taxable income of 15,252 euros, below the provincial average (21,487 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Apricale is in climate zone D, with 2,015 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 273 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Apricale has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 sports facility.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.9 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 3.7% of the land in Apricale, compared with 6.4% in the province and 7.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Apricale is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Liguria in 2026. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Apricale.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Apricale: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.

House prices

The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.

Land registry

The cadastral maps for Apricale are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.

Liveability area by area

The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 7 inhabited census areas in Apricale. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.

The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out

Data sources

ISTAT code 008002. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.