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Bolano: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Bolano

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 Vecchia 1, Bolano.

Bolano, a hilltop village and Ceparana on the Magra plain

Bolano is a municipality in the lower Magra valley, in the province of La Spezia, bordering the Tuscan Lunigiana. It has two very different sides. Up the hill is the old village, perched above the valley with stone houses and narrow lanes; down below, Ceparana, the largest of its villages, spreads across the valley floor, on the plain where the rivers Vara and Magra meet.

For a buyer the contrast is sharp. The old village offers quiet, views over the valley and houses that often need work, with narrow roads and slopes that make building work and parking awkward. Ceparana has shops, services and newer homes, close to the motorway junctions and to Santo Stefano di Magra, with La Spezia and Sarzana a short drive away. On the plain, though, the relationship with the rivers needs a careful look: the Magra and the Vara have heavy floods, and flood hazard is checked for the individual address.

In 2023 Bolano had 7,457 residents according to Istat, the national statistics institute, down 3.9% on 2011. By population it ranks 8 out of 32 municipalities in the province. The estimated average age is 48.2 and over-65s make up 27.5%, in line with an elderly province (27.8%); foreign residents account for 6.7%.

Earthquakes deserve attention. The Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile) puts Bolano in seismic zone 2, shared with only 6 other municipalities in the province, while the rest are in zone 3, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.143 g. For a stone house in the old village, have walls and floors checked before buying; in a block of flats in Ceparana, ask when it was designed and whether any structural work has been done.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, and the report goes from the address to the plot, with elevation, slope and the official landslide maps for houses on the hillside.

Key points

  • Hilltop village plus Ceparana on the valley floor, next to Tuscany.
  • Population down 3.9% since 2011; over-65s at 27.5%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.143 g.
  • On the Magra and Vara plain, check flood hazard address by address.

Overview

Bolano is a municipality in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 7,457 residents, ranked 8 of 32 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bolano is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 7 of 32 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.143 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Bolano, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 3.9%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 6.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bolano declared an average taxable income of 25,037 euros, in line with the province (25,530 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bolano is in climate zone D, with 1,819 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 317 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bolano has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 4 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 0.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).

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 14.0% of the land in Bolano, compared with 8.0% in the province and 7.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Bolano is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Liguria in 2026. 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 Bolano.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bolano: 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 Bolano 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 37 inhabited census areas in Bolano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 54.2%
  • good 45.8%

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 011004. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.