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Varese Ligure: 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 Varese 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 Giuseppe Garibaldi 1, Varese Ligure.

Varese Ligure, the round village of the upper Val di Vara

The round village of Varese Ligure, with houses arranged in a circle around an inner square, is the best-known feature of this municipality in the upper Val di Vara, inland in the province of La Spezia. Around it are woods, pasture and hamlets scattered over the slopes, with farming and livestock largely run on organic lines. The coast, towards Sestri Levante or La Spezia, is reached by mountain roads.

The municipality has lost many residents: 1,761 in 2023, down 16.3% on 2011, or 342 fewer people. The average age is 53.5 against 48.6 in the province, and over-65s are 37.2%, against the provincial 27.8%. Households are very small, with 1.69 members on average.

Buyers will find stone houses in the village and hamlets, often used as second homes by people living on the coast or in cities, and rural buildings with land to restore. The village has 2 pharmacies, schools and a supermarket. Winters are cold for Liguria (climate zone D), so heating needs budgeting for.

In the province of La Spezia, 7 municipalities are in seismic zone 2, Varese Ligure among them, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.153 g in the built-up area. For a stone house, find out whether the walls and floors have been strengthened.

On the slopes of the upper valley, the report for an address measures the gradient, checks the official landslide and flood maps and finds the plot on the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency.

Key points

  • Upper Val di Vara, around the round village.
  • Population down 16.3% since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 37.2%, against 27.8% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2: ask about strengthening work.

Overview

Varese Ligure is a municipality in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 1,761 residents, ranked 16 of 32 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Varese Ligure is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 7 of 32 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.153 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Varese Ligure, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 16.3%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (49). 37% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 4.2% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Varese Ligure declared an average taxable income of 20,128 euros, below the provincial average (25,530 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Varese Ligure is in climate zone D, with 1,820 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 353 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Varese Ligure has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 2 healthcare facilities, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

There are 1.1 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).

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 3.0% of the land in Varese Ligure, 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

Varese Ligure 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 no contaminated sites in Varese Ligure.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Varese 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 Varese 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 60 inhabited census areas in Varese Ligure. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 3.0%
  • fair 97.0%

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

ISTAT code 011029. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.