Liguria · Imperia
Ceriana
A medieval village above the Valle Armea, inland from Sanremo, built on the Roman castrum that gave it its name.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Ceriana is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Città dell'Olio.
Subscribe and you get Ceriana's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 1 min from Genoa
- Population
- 1,090
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A16°
- M20°
- J24°
- J27°
- A28°
- S24°
- O20°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Ceriana sits in the Valle Armea, twenty kilometers west of Imperia and a short climb inland from Sanremo. The Romans built a garrison here called Castrum Coelianae, a watchtower with permanent quarters for legionaries; the name shortened to Ceriana over the centuries. The town took its present shape in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, passing from the Counts of Ventimiglia to the Mari family in 1297 and to the Republic of Genoa in 1359.
The parish church of Santi Pietro e Paolo is reached by climbing the caruggi, narrow Ligurian alleys roofed in places by overpassing houses; inside, an anonymous wooden Virgin from the thirteenth century and a 1526 polyptych of San Pietro in cattedra. Three confraternities still keep their oratories in town: the Rossi at Santa Caterina, the Azzurri at the Visitazione, and the Neri at the Addolorata. Olive oil from the surrounding terraces carries the Città dell'Olio mark.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 56 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 3 h 12 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 3 h 19 min.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Parish church at the top of the caruggi, with a thirteenth-century anonymous wooden Virgin and a 1526 polyptych of San Pietro in cattedra.
Oratorio di Santa Caterina
Seventeenth-century oratory of the Confraternita dei Rossi, built under the protection of the Senate of Genoa.
Oratorio della Visitazione
Seat of the Confraternita degli Azzurri, the second of three colour-coded brotherhoods that still organize the town's processions.
Oratorio dell'Addolorata
Home of the Confraternita dei Neri, the third confraternity, completing the red-blue-black trio of Ceriana's religious orders.
Centro storico
Eleventh- and twelfth-century stone town built on the Roman castrum, threaded with covered caruggi and stepped passages.
Living here
Could you live here?
Ceriana is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,090. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Sanremo, is 27 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Sanremo, a city of 53,059, is 27 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
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 1,090, down 13% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Sanremo, 27 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sanremo, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €900 to €1,350 per m² to buy, €5.50 to €7.60 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 87% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 56 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 2 h 1 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
19% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 53 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and France. There are 357 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 68% 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, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Pietra Ligure, 49 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Pietra Ligure, 49 km away. The nearest IB school is Deledda International School, 109 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% 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. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 37% 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
OLIVE OIL
Taggiasca olives from the terraced slopes around the village, recognized by the Città dell'Olio network.
THREE CONFRATERNITIES
Rossi, Azzurri and Neri, each with its own oratory, still active in the religious calendar of the village.
CASTRUM COELIANAE
The Roman watchtower garrison that gave Ceriana its name and shaped its hilltop layout above the Armea river.
Common questions
- What is Ceriana known for?
- Ceriana is a medieval village at 369 meters above the Valle Armea, inland from Sanremo, built on the Roman castrum that gave it its name.
- Where is Ceriana?
- Ceriana is a comune in the province of Imperia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Ceriana?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 56 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Ceriana?
- About 3 h 19 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ceriana?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and June the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ceriana?
- Pieve di Teco, Bassano in Teverina and Magliano di Tenna.
- How many people live in Ceriana?
- 1,090 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ceriana a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Ceriana is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Sanremo, is 27 min away. The nearest city, Sanremo, is 27 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sanremo, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 87% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 369 m
- Population: 1,090
- Surface area: 31.79 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 Ceriana appears in
- The best hill towns in the province of ImperiaImperia provincehill town6 towns · smallest 284 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
Similar
Towns like Ceriana
What all six share with Ceriana: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.