Liguria · Genova
Camogli
A fishing village on the Golfo Paradiso whose nineteenth-century fleet of a thousand white sails made it Italy's third maritime power in the Mediterranean.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 24.
The letter
Camogli got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 33 min from Genoa
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 4,882
- J12°
- F13°
- M15°
- A17°
- M21°
- J24°
- J28°
- A28°
- S25°
- O20°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Camogli sits on the west side of the Portofino peninsula, twenty kilometers from Genova on the Golfo Paradiso. The earliest record dates to the tenth century, when it was already a tuna and shrimp fishing port. By the nineteenth century, the town's fleet of merchant sailing ships ran to several hundred vessels and Camogli was called the city of a thousand white sails.
After the naval defeat at Abukir against the British, the camogliesi shipowners reinvested in building merchant sailers under contract to the major European states. The painted façades of the seafront houses, with their false windows and trompe-l'oeil cornices, served the returning sailors as recognition marks from sea. The Castello della Dragonara, built in the thirteenth century, still guards the harbor.
Every second Sunday of May, the Sagra del Pesce fries thirty thousand portions of fish in a single giant pan on the wharf, in honor of San Fortunato. San Fruttuoso, the eleventh-century abbey reachable by boat or trail, sits in the next cove.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 42 min by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 1 h 58 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 1 h 49 min or Milan 2 h 4 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Genoa, Pisa or Milan?
Coming by train into Genova Piazza Principe? Camogli is about 39 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello della Dragonara
Thirteenth-century fortress guarding the harbor, used as municipal seat and now a venue for exhibitions and cultural events.
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Parish basilica next to the castle on the harbor, baroque interior with marble inlays and seventeenth-century paintings.
Abbazia di San Fruttuoso
Eleventh-century Benedictine abbey in the next cove, reachable by boat or by the coastal trail across the Portofino peninsula.
Punta Chiappa
Rocky promontory on the south side of the peninsula, with deep-water swimming and views back to the painted façades.
Parco naturale regionale di Portofino
Regional park covering the Portofino peninsula, with trails between Camogli, San Fruttuoso, Portofino and Santa Margherita.
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.
La LoggiaTrattoria
La Loggia has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
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?
Camogli is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 4,882, with Recco (9,279 people) 9 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Genova, a city of 564,080, is 33 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 4,882, down 8.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Genoa, 33 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Rapallo, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €4,100 to €6,100 per m² to buy, €9.20 to €13.70 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
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 51% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 42 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 33 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ecuador and the United Kingdom, against 9% across Italy. 48 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. There are 431 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 54% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Genoa province ranks 43rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Rapallo, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Genoa, 23 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Genoa, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is The International School in Genoa, 13 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.14% 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 nothing 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. In Genoa, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.28, a meal in a pizzeria €11.86 and a man's haircut €17.37.
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. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 2% in a high or medium one. 11% 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
A THOUSAND WHITE SAILS
The nineteenth-century merchant-sailing fleet that made Camogli Italy's third maritime power in the Mediterranean.
SAGRA DEL PESCE
Second Sunday of May, thirty thousand portions of fish fried in a single giant pan on the wharf, in honor of San Fortunato.
SAN FRUTTUOSO
Eleventh-century Benedictine abbey in the next cove, reachable by boat or by foot across the Portofino peninsula.
Common questions
- What is Camogli known for?
- Camogli is a fishing village on the Golfo Paradiso whose nineteenth-century fleet of a thousand white sails made it Italy's third maritime power in the Mediterranean.
- Where is Camogli?
- Camogli is a comune in the province of Genova, in Liguria, at 32 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Camogli?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 42 min by car.
- Can you get to Camogli without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Camogli?
- About 1 h 49 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Camogli?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Camogli?
- Celle Ligure, Andora and Diano.
- How many people live in Camogli?
- 4,882 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Camogli a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Camogli is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Recco, 9 min). The nearest city, Genova, is 33 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Rapallo, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 51% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 32 m
- Population: 4,882
- Surface area: 10.07 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 Camogli appears in
- The 6 best towns inside a nature park in the province of GenovaGenova provinceinside a park6 towns · smallest 351 residents
- The 6 best towns you can reach by train that sit inside a nature park in LiguriaLiguriainside a parkby train6 towns · smallest 2,796 residents
- The best hidden towns that eat well in the province of GenovaGenova provinceeats wellhidden6 towns · smallest 2,796 residents
- The best small beach towns that eat well in LiguriaLiguriaclean beacheats wellsmall6 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The best small towns inside a nature park that eat well in LiguriaLiguriainside a parkeats wellsmall6 towns · smallest 351 residents
- The best beach towns in the province of GenovaGenova provinceclean beach7 towns · smallest 2,486 residents
Featured on
Camogli appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 26.
Portofino
Province: Genova
Three hundred and fifty-one residents, the smallest municipal territory in the metropolitan area, and the harbor every superyacht in the Mediterranean wants to anchor in.
7 km away
- Written about. No. 27.
Rapallo
Province: Genova
The largest town on the Tigullio gulf, twice the location of treaties that redrew borders in postwar Europe.
15 min by car
- Written about. No. 25.
Chiavari
Province: Genova
The Tigullio capital between Portofino and the Cinque Terre, a 27,000-person Genoese trading town built around a thirteenth-century grid of porticoed streets.
19 min by car
The letter
Camogli got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.