Rapallo: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Genova, Liguria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Rapallo
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: Corso Goffredo Mameli 1, Rapallo.
Rapallo, the Gulf of Tigullio and the hills above the sea
The castle on the water and the palm-lined seafront are Rapallo's calling card, at the centre of the Gulf of Tigullio between the Portofino headland and Zoagli. Genoa is about half an hour away by train or motorway. Behind the town the land climbs straight away: hills covered with houses and olive trees rise to the sanctuary of Montallegro, which can also be reached by cable car.
The town is built in very little space. During the building boom so much went up here that the word "rapallizzazione" entered Italian dictionaries to mean the concreting-over of a coastline. For a buyer this means choosing between flats in dense blocks near the sea, old houses in the centre, and villas or smaller detached houses on the hillside, reached by narrow, steep roads where parking is scarce. A station on the Genoa to La Spezia line and a junction on the A12 motorway make commuting to Genoa easy.
The population is stable: 29,455 residents in 2023, up 0.8% on 2011. It ranks number 2 by population in the metropolitan area of Genoa, with an estimated average age of 48.8 and over-65s at 29.0%, high figures but in line with Liguria, Italy's oldest region. Households are small, 1.94 people on average, and many homes are second homes.
Earthquake hazard is moderate: seismic zone 3, like 64 municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.088 g.
Water and slopes deserve more attention. The Boate stream runs through the town and has caused flooding, and storm surges hit the seafront, like the one in October 2018 that damaged the harbour. On the hills the issue is landslides. The report checks flood hazard, landslides and slope gradient for the individual address.
Key points
- At the centre of the Gulf of Tigullio, between Portofino and Zoagli.
- Station on the Genoa-La Spezia line and an A12 junction.
- 29,455 residents, over-65s at 29.0%.
- Seismic zone 3; stream and storm surges to check.
Overview
Rapallo is a municipality in the province of Genova, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 29,455 residents, the second most populous in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rapallo 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 0.088 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. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 12.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rapallo declared an average taxable income of 25,106 euros, below the provincial average (26,655 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Rapallo is in climate zone D, with 1,412 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 2 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rapallo has 18 schools and 9 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 19 grocery shops and supermarkets, 27 healthcare facilities, 40 sports facilities and 12 parks and green areas.
There are 0.6 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 13.4% of the land in Rapallo, 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
Rapallo 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 7 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Rapallo, and 4 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 Rapallo: 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 Rapallo 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 162 inhabited census areas in Rapallo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 22.5%
- good 54.5%
- very good 23.0%
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 010046. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.