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Carro: 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 Carro

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 Italia 1, Carro.

Carro, a village in the Val di Vara behind La Spezia

Carro is one of the municipalities of the Val di Vara, the hinterland of the province of La Spezia where Liguria stops being coastline and turns into hills and woodland. The village lies at around 420 metres. The sea is not far as the crow flies, but the way there is by mountain roads, and for services and work people look to the larger towns in the valley and on the coast.

The population is one of the things to understand before buying. In 2023 there were 483 residents, down 16.7% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, and the village is clearly older than the province: an average age of 55.8 against 48.6, over-65s at 39.3% against 27.8%. Foreign residents make up 5.6%. Average declared incomes are below the provincial figure.

For anyone looking for a holiday home or a move away from traffic, the village offers stone houses and rural buildings with land. The climate is zone D, milder than the altitude might suggest, but houses left closed for long periods suffer from damp and leaks: roof, plaster and systems are the first things to have checked.

Carro is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection department's national scale, like 25 of the 32 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.133 g. In old masonry buildings, ask whether any work has been done on the floors and on how the walls are tied together.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so the report finds the land parcel from the address. On the valley's wooded slopes landslide hazard varies from spot to spot, and the report reads it on the official maps for the chosen address.

Key points

  • La Spezia hinterland, Val di Vara, among hills and woods.
  • Over-65s at 39.3%, against 27.8% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.133 g.
  • Houses left closed: check roof, damp and systems.

Overview

Carro is a municipality in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 483 residents, among the smallest in the province (30 of 32).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Carro is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (25 of 32) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.133 g, a moderate 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 16.7%. The estimated average age is 56 years, higher than the province average (49). 39% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 5.6% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Carro declared an average taxable income of 20,913 euros, below the provincial average (25,530 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Carro is in climate zone D, with 2,038 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 418 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Carro has 1 school. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop and 2 healthcare facilities.

The data shows no pharmacies within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.4 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 2.8% of the land in Carro, 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

Carro 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 Carro.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Carro: 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 Carro 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 15 inhabited census areas in Carro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 5.4%
  • fair 51.4%
  • good 43.2%

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 011009. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.