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Lerici: 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 Lerici

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 Fiascherino 1, Lerici.

Lerici, its castle, San Terenzo and Tellaro on the gulf

Lerici closes the eastern side of the Gulf of La Spezia, often called the Gulf of Poets after the English writers who spent time here in the nineteenth century: Shelley lived at San Terenzo, now part of the municipality. The main town clusters around its castle and small harbour. Along the coast come San Terenzo, Fiascherino and Tellaro, while the hills behind hold villages such as La Serra, looking out over the sea.

Buying here is expensive and there is little on the market. Most houses stand on terraces and steep slopes, reached on foot or by steps, with parking in short supply; many are second homes used for a few months a year. Average declared incomes are well above the provincial level. If you intend to live here all year, consider how you will reach shops, a pharmacy and a doctor in winter, when the town empties.

The population is markedly older than average. The average age is 53.0, against 48.6 for the province of La Spezia, and people over 65 make up 35.8% compared with 27.8%. At the end of 2023 there were 9,346 residents, down 7.4% on 2011. Foreign residents account for 5.8%.

On earthquakes, the province has 7 municipalities in seismic zone 2 and 25 in zone 3 under the Civil Protection Department's classification, Lerici among the latter, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.125 g. In the old stone houses of the villages, have walls, floors and roofs checked before you sign, not least because building work costs more where access is difficult.

The most practical issue on the Ligurian coast is the hillsides: dry-stone walls, sloping ground and narrow roads that a landslide can close for weeks. The report starts from the land parcel on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) maps and checks the official landslide and flood maps at the address, including the streams that run down to the sea.

Key points

  • Castle, San Terenzo and Tellaro on the Gulf of La Spezia.
  • Average age 53.0, with 35.8% aged over 65.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.125 g.
  • Steep slopes and dry-stone walls: check landslide maps by address.

Overview

Lerici is a municipality in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 9,346 residents, ranked 5 of 32 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Lerici 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 0.125 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 7.4%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (49). 36% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 5.8% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Lerici declared an average taxable income of 30,828 euros, above the provincial average (25,530 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Lerici is in climate zone D, with 1,427 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 10 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Lerici has 8 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 6 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 14 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

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 15.4% of the land in Lerici, 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

Lerici 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Lerici. 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 Lerici: 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 Lerici 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 59 inhabited census areas in Lerici. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 62 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.3%
  • fair 61.0%
  • good 38.7%

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 011016. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.