Serra Riccò: 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
Land sheet 6 free checks
Search for an address in Serra Riccò
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 Antonio Medicina 1, Serra Riccò.
Serra Riccò, the Secca valley behind Genoa
Serra Riccò lies in the valley of the Secca, a stream that feeds the Polcevera, in the hills behind Genoa. Houses stretch along the valley floor beside the main road and climb the sides of the valley in scattered hamlets among woods, terraced vegetable plots and old chestnut groves. The sea is about twenty minutes away by car, but the landscape already belongs to the Ligurian Apennines, and the climate (zone D) is cooler and damper than in the city.
Most residents work in Genoa and drive down each day towards Bolzaneto and the Polcevera valley, where the motorway and the railway run. The practical question for a buyer is how long the valley road takes at rush hour, and whether the house is easy to reach in winter too: many hamlets are served by narrow, steep lanes with little parking. In return you find detached houses with some land, which is rare in Genoa itself.
At the end of 2023 there were 7,581 residents, down 4.4% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 48.3, slightly below 49.0 for the Metropolitan City of Genoa, one of the oldest areas in Italy; over-65s make up 27.9% against 29.1%. Foreign residents are 4.2% and households average 2.12 people.
The municipality is in seismic zone 3 on the national scale kept by the Civil Protection Department, like almost all of the Genoa area (64 out of 67 municipalities), with expected ground acceleration of about 0.080 g. The hazard is moderate; in old stone houses, damp in walls set against the hillside and the state of the roof and of the terrace retaining walls matter more.
Water is the issue to watch most closely. The Secca and its side streams fill quickly during the heavy autumn rain typical of Liguria, and slopes can give way. The report checks flood and landslide hazard for the address, working from the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), which are published for Serra Riccò.
Key points
- Secca stream valley, in the hills behind Genoa towards the Polcevera.
- 7,581 residents in 2023, down 4.4% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.080 g.
- Streams and slopes: flood and landslide hazard checked by address.
Overview
Serra Riccò is a municipality in the province of Genova, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 7,581 residents, ranked 10 of 67 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Serra Riccò 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 0.080 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 4.4%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 4.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Serra Riccò declared an average taxable income of 25,757 euros, in line with the province (26,655 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Serra Riccò is in climate zone D, with 2,009 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 187 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Serra Riccò has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 7 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 2 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.
There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.9).
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 10.3% of the land in Serra Riccò, 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
Serra Riccò 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 open contaminated sites in Serra Riccò; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Serra Riccò: 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 Serra Riccò 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 64 inhabited census areas in Serra Riccò. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 8.0%
- fair 77.3%
- good 14.7%
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
- 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 010058. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.