Liguria · Imperia
Cipressa
A ridgeline village above the Riviera dei Fiori, the climb that decides the final selection of a famous cycling race and a sixteenth-century Saracen-defence tower as its summit.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Cipressa is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 46 min from Genoa
- Population
- 1,201
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J28°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° 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
Cipressa sits on a ridge above the Ligurian Sea, ten kilometers west of Imperia. The ridge runs inland from the coast road, and the village occupies its high point, with the frazione of Lingueglietta set further west on the same line of hills, its medieval street plan still intact and separate in character from the centro storico below. Above the village, a tower built against Saracen raids stands as one signal point in a chain that once ran the length of the coast from Ventimiglia to Genova, the raids themselves having shaped settlement patterns here through the late Middle Ages: villages set back and up from the shore, watch points on the high ground.
In Lingueglietta the same pressure produced a church converted into a fortified shelter, merlons added to its roofline when the danger from the sea increased. Below the ridge, the valley is olive country, Taggiasca terraces dropping from the high ground to the coast road. The result is a village whose defensive geography, built to keep distance from the water, now sits directly above a road cut for the opposite purpose: getting from the water to the ridge as fast as possible.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 41 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 2 h 57 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 3 h 4 min.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre Gallinara
Cylindrical form on the ridge above the village, a viewpoint across the Riviera dei Fiori from the walkway that circles its base.
Chiesa Fortezza di San Pietro
Proto-Romanesque church in Lingueglietta, its roofline still carrying the merlons added when pirate raids intensified along the coast.
Lingueglietta
Frazione on the western ridge with intact medieval streets, reached by the road that climbs away from the centro storico.
Chiesa di San Lorenzo
Parish church at the top of the village, its bell tower the visual marker riders and spectators look for at the finish of the climb.
Salita della Cipressa
The road rises from the shoreline through olive terraces before the gradient steepens toward the village, a climb ridden rather than only watched.
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.
Ristorante Da U TittiRistorante
Ristorante Da U Titti carries one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).
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?
Cipressa is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,201. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Imperia, is 26 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Imperia, a city of 42,580, is 26 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 1,201, down 5.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Imperia, 26 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Imperia, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,900 to €2,800 per m² to buy, €6.50 to €9.00 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 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 41 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 1 h 46 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Germany and Turkey, against 9% across Italy. 32 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and France. There are 281 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 Imperia, 8 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, 101 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 0.6% 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. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 9% 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
MILANO-SAN REMO
The Cipressa climb has decided the final selection of Milano-San Remo since it was added to the route in 1982, 5.6 km at four percent.
TORRE GALLINARA
Sixteenth-century Saracen-defence watchtower on the ridge, signal point in the chain of coastal towers from Ventimiglia to Genova.
LINGUEGLIETTA
Frazione with an eleventh-century church-fortress on the hill west of the centro storico, also listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Common questions
- What is Cipressa known for?
- Cipressa is a ridgeline village at 232 meters above the Riviera dei Fiori, the climb that decides the final selection of a famous cycling race and a sixteenth-century Saracen-defence tower as its summit.
- Where is Cipressa?
- Cipressa is a comune in the province of Imperia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Cipressa?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 41 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Cipressa?
- About 3 h 4 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Cipressa?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and June the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Cipressa?
- Cervo, Deiva Marina and Laigueglia.
- How many people live in Cipressa?
- 1,201 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Cipressa a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Cipressa is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Imperia, is 26 min away. The nearest city, Imperia, is 26 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Imperia, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 232 m
- Population: 1,201
- Surface area: 9.39 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 Cipressa appears in
- The best coastal towns in the province of ImperiaImperia provincecoastal6 towns · smallest 1,067 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
Similar
Towns like Cipressa
What all six share with Cipressa: under 3,000 people
Cervo
Province: Imperia
both on the Ligurian coast
Deiva Marina
Province: La Spezia
both on the Ligurian coast
Laigueglia
Province: Savona
both on the Ligurian coast
Borgio Verezzi
Province: Savona
both on the Ligurian coast
Fiumefreddo Bruzio
Province: Cosenza
both hill towns · both on the coast
Torno
Province: Como
both hill towns
The letter
Cipressa is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Cipressa comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 112 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.