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Chiavari: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Chiavari

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 Parma 2, Chiavari.

Chiavari, arcaded streets and the mouth of the Entella

Chiavari lies on the eastern Italian Riviera, in the Gulf of Tigullio, on the flat land where the Entella river reaches the sea and divides it from Lavagna. It is the shopping town for this stretch of coast. Arcaded streets lined with shops run through the old centre, and the town gives its name to the Chiavari chair, the light wooden chair first made in local workshops. Genoa is about forty kilometres away.

A station on the Genoa to La Spezia line and a junction on the A12 motorway make it realistic to work in Genoa and live here. The property market has two sides: flats in period buildings in the centre and towards the seafront, often sought as holiday homes, and the hills behind the town, with villas and scattered houses reached by narrow, winding roads. There is also a marina.

Chiavari has 27,398 residents (2023), almost exactly the same as in 2011 (up 0.2%). It is an older town even by Ligurian standards: 30.1% of residents are over 65, against 29.0% in the region, and the estimated average age is 49.3. Foreign nationals make up 8.8%. Declared incomes are above the average for the metropolitan city of Genoa.

Seismic hazard is moderate. On the Civil Protection scale Chiavari is in zone 3, like 63 other municipalities around Genoa, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.101 g. In the old stone apartment buildings of the centre, what matters more is the state of the building and any major works the owners' meeting has already approved.

The Entella and the streams coming down from the hills are what to watch for flooding, especially in the lower part of town; higher up, landslides and slopes matter more. The report checks the official maps for the exact address and uses the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps to find the land parcel. Winters are mild (climate zone D).

Key points

  • Arcaded town centre on the Tigullio gulf, at the mouth of the Entella.
  • Trains to Genoa and an A12 motorway junction in town.
  • 30.1% of residents over 65, more than in Liguria (29.0%).
  • Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.101 g.

Overview

Chiavari is a municipality in the province of Genova, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 27,398 residents, the third most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Chiavari is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (64 of 67) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.101 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 8.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Chiavari declared an average taxable income of 27,981 euros, in line with the province (26,655 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Chiavari is in climate zone D, with 1,418 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 5 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Chiavari has 29 schools and 8 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 24 grocery shops and supermarkets, 39 healthcare facilities, 38 sports facilities and 7 parks and green areas.

There are 0.9 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).

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 29.2% of the land in Chiavari, 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

Chiavari 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 medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 9 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Chiavari, and 5 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Chiavari: 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 Chiavari 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 136 inhabited census areas in Chiavari. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.2%
  • fair 57.0%
  • good 28.6%
  • very good 14.1%

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 010015. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.