Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Savona, Liguria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena
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 Roma 1, Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena.
Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, a castle village in the Val Neva
The castle still stands at the top of the village, and the stone houses of Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena crowd around it on the side of the mountain. This is the upper Val Neva, inland from Albenga, at around four hundred and thirty metres. The medieval village belongs to the "Borghi più belli d'Italia" network of the most attractive small towns in Italy, and mostly draws people looking for a holiday home not far from the Riviera coast.
Buying here nearly always means buying an old house. Walls are thick, rooms are often small and spread over several levels, and part of the village can only be reached on foot. Before signing, find out how materials and machinery would get in for building work, what state the roof and floors are in, and how damp the rooms set against the hillside are.
The resident population is small and elderly. In 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 127 people, against 172 in 2011: a fall of 26.2%. Over-65s make up 42.5%, against 30.0% in the province of Savona, and the estimated average age is 56.7. Households have 1.63 members on average. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.
The municipality is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 45 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.116 g. In stone buildings, the way walls and floors are tied together matters a great deal, and a surveyor can assess it on site.
Using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, the report finds the land parcel from the address. On the steep sides of the valley, landslide hazard varies from one spot to the next and is read from the official maps for each house.
Key points
- Medieval stone village around its castle, in the upper Val Neva.
- 127 residents in 2023, down 26.2% since 2011.
- Over-65s at 42.5% against 30.0% in the province.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.116 g.
Overview
Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena is a municipality in the province of Savona, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 127 residents, among the smallest in the province (68 of 69).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (46 of 69) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.116 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 26.2%. The estimated average age is 57 years, higher than the province average (50). 43% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 4.7% of the population. On average, a household has 1.6 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena declared an average taxable income of 18,340 euros, below the provincial average (24,469 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena is in climate zone E, with 2,324 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 430 metres above sea level.
Services
The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.0 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 2.7% of the land in Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, compared with 6.7% in the province and 7.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena 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 Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena: 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 Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena 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 6 inhabited census areas in Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 52 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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Liguria, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 009021. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.