Liguria · Imperia
Badalucco
A medieval village wrapped in a bend of the Argentina torrent, with murals on its caruggi and a Slow Food bean on its terraces.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Badalucco is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 2 min from Genoa
- Population
- 1,087
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A16°
- M20°
- J24°
- J27°
- A28°
- S24°
- O20°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Badalucco sits in the middle Valle Argentina, fifteen kilometers north of Imperia. The torrent that gives the valley its name runs in a wide bend below the village. The site changed hands between Ligures and Rome in 181 BC, became a fief of the Counts of Ventimiglia, and passed to the Republic of Genova in 1259.
The seventeenth century rebuilt the parish Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta e San Giorgio in full Baroque, with a square bell tower and a fifteenth-century polyptych attributed to Giovanni Canavesio. The caruggi of stone houses are painted with contemporary murals and trompe-l'oeil, a more recent layer over the medieval shell. The Rundin bean, an indigenous variety grown on the terraces, is a Slow Food Presidium. Stoccafisso alla badalucchese, stockfish stewed in tomato and olives, is the dish: the third Sunday of September brings the Stockfish Festival to the square.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 57 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 3 h 10 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 3 h 20 min.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta e San Giorgio
Seventeenth-century Baroque parish church with a square bell tower, holding a fifteenth-century polyptych attributed to Giovanni Canavesio and a seventeenth-century wooden crucifix.
Chiesa di San Niccolò
Hilltop church above the old village, on the site of a former noble castle that served as a lookout over the valley.
Ponte sull'Argentina
Stone bridge across the torrent that wraps the village, connecting the centro storico to the valley road.
Centro storico
Stone caruggi painted with murals and trompe-l'oeil panels, a contemporary art layer over the medieval grid.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
UmamiRistorante
Umami carries one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Cian de BiàRistorante
A Slow Food snail, at Cian de Bià.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Badalucco is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,087. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Taggia, is 25 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Sanremo, a city of 53,059, is 35 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 1,087, down 6.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Sanremo, 35 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sanremo, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,000 to €1,450 per m² to buy, €4.90 to €6.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 88% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 57 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 2 h 2 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
13% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Germany, against 9% across Italy. 38 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the Netherlands and France. There are 285 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 66% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Imperia province ranks 80th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sanremo, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Pietra Ligure, 43 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Pietra Ligure, 43 km away. The nearest IB school is Deledda International School, 103 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Liguria spends about €2,230 a month, €490 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €552 a year for water, on the Liguria average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 28% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 38% in a high or medium one. 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
STOCCAFISSO
Badalucco-style stockfish stewed with tomato and olives, celebrated the third Sunday of September at the village festival.
FAGIOLO RUNDIN
Indigenous bean of the Argentina Valley terraces, a Slow Food Presidium and the basis of the local Città dell'Olio cuisine.
MURALS IN THE CARUGGI
Contemporary murals and trompe-l'oeil panels painted across the stone alleys of the centro storico, a 1980s art project on the medieval shell.
Common questions
- What is Badalucco known for?
- Badalucco is a medieval village wrapped in a bend of the Argentina torrent, with murals on its caruggi and a Slow Food bean on its terraces.
- Where is Badalucco?
- Badalucco is a comune in the province of Imperia, in Liguria, at 179 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Badalucco?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 57 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Badalucco?
- About 3 h 20 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Badalucco?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Badalucco?
- Brugnato, Volpedo and Morro d'Alba.
- How many people live in Badalucco?
- 1,087 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Badalucco a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Badalucco is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Taggia, is 25 min away. The nearest city, Sanremo, is 35 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sanremo, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 88% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 179 m
- Population: 1,087
- Surface area: 16.1 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Badalucco appears in
- The best hill towns in the province of ImperiaImperia provincehill town6 towns · smallest 284 residents
- The best olive oil towns that eat well in LiguriaLiguriaolive oileats well8 towns · smallest 1,087 residents
- The best olive oil towns in the province of ImperiaImperia provinceolive oil9 towns · smallest 601 residents
- The prettiest small villages in the province of ImperiaImperia provinceprettiest villagessmall9 towns · smallest 284 residents
- The prettiest small villages that eat well in LiguriaLiguriaeats wellprettiest villagessmall10 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The prettiest villages with a serious restaurant in LiguriaLiguriaserious restaurantprettiest villages10 towns · smallest 553 residents
Similar
Towns like Badalucco
What all six share with Badalucco: inland, away from the coast · near sea level
- Written about. No. 57.
Brugnato
Province: La Spezia
both under 3,000 people
Volpedo
Province: Alessandria
both under 3,000 people
Morro d'Alba
Province: Ancona
both under 3,000 people
Grinzane Cavour
Province: Cuneo
both under 3,000 people
Arquà Petrarca
Province: Padova
both under 3,000 people
Zuccarello
Province: Savona
1 h 7 min apart by road
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