Vado Ligure: 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 Vado Ligure
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 Aurelia 1, Vado Ligure.
Vado Ligure, the port town just west of Savona
The port is the first thing you see arriving in Vado Ligure: container terminal cranes, quays and depots take up most of the shoreline. The municipality lies just west of Savona on the Riviera di Ponente, and for centuries it has lived from industry, shipping and the sea. In Roman times this was Vada Sabatia, a harbour on the Ligurian coast.
For house hunters, Vado offers very different settings within a short distance. Along the coast are the districts right by the port and the Via Aurelia coast road, with 1960s and 1970s blocks, and the Porto Vado area with its beach. Inland, hamlets such as Sant'Ermete, Segno and Valle di Vado are quieter and greener, with houses scattered over the hills. Savona is a few minutes away, with trains to Genoa and along the Riviera. Being close to the port and industrial areas means heavy traffic and noise in some streets, which is worth checking in person.
In 2023 Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 7,997 residents, 2.9% fewer than in 2011. As across the province of Savona, one of the oldest in Italy, the average age is high at 49.5, and over-65s make up 29.4%. Households are small, 2.01 people on average. Services are plentiful for the size of the town: 113 in all, including 11 supermarkets.
Vado Ligure is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, like 45 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.059 g, a low value. Near the sea, what matters more is salt damage to facades, rusting balcony ironwork and the condition of the building.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report finds the plot from the address. In Liguria short, steep streams rise fast in heavy rain: for homes near the watercourses running down to the sea, and for those on the slopes, the report checks flooding and landslides for the individual address.
Key points
- Container port and industry, just west of Savona.
- Hill hamlets such as Sant'Ermete, Segno and Valle di Vado.
- Average age 49.5; over-65s 29.4%.
- Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.059 g.
Overview
Vado Ligure is a municipality in the province of Savona, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 7,997 residents, ranked 10 of 69 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Vado Ligure 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 0.059 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 2.9%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 6.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Vado Ligure declared an average taxable income of 23,192 euros, below the provincial average (24,469 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Vado Ligure is in climate zone D, with 1,463 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 12 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Vado Ligure has 6 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 11 grocery shops and supermarkets, 6 healthcare facilities and 7 sports facilities.
There are 1.4 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (1.0).
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 16.7% of the land in Vado Ligure, compared with 6.7% in the province and 7.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.2 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Vado Ligure is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area by the Regione Liguria in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list 13 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Vado Ligure, 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 Vado Ligure: 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 Vado Ligure 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 48 inhabited census areas in Vado Ligure. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 97.8%
- good 2.2%
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 009064. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.