Liguria · Imperia
Diano
A twin destination on the Riviera dei Fiori: a medieval hilltop borgo above and a beach resort below, sharing one bay and one olive valley.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Diano is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Blu and Bandiera Lilla.
Subscribe and you get Diano's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 34 min from Genoa
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 7,763
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A16°
- M20°
- J24°
- J28°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D13°
- 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
The hilltop and the coast were one commune until the seaside half was made independent in 1923, and the two still read as a single place split in two: a fortified settlement set back from the water, and the town it produced at sea level once the shoreline could be settled safely. The name of the upper town traces to the Latin Dianum, a temple to Diana, which places the site's origin well before the medieval walls that now define it. Both halves sit on the same bay and draw on the same valley behind them, where the Taggiasca olive has been grown long enough to anchor the local Città dell'Olio membership shared by both.
The bay itself is sheltered and south-facing, which gives the coastal half one of the milder climates on the Italian Riviera and explains why the beach resort grew where it did, directly below the older settlement rather than at any distance from it. What Diano amounts to, then, is a single valley economy, olives above, sand below, that split administratively in the twentieth century without ever splitting geographically.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 29 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 2 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 2 h 52 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Diano Castello: centro storico
Vaulted alleys and stone staircases climb through the old town to the parish church of San Nicola di Bari. The walls that ring the settlement still trace their full course, and the streets keep the tight, defensive layout of a hill settlement built for lookout rather than commerce.
Diano Marina: Bandiera Blu beach
The seafront runs the length of the resort under a line of palms, with the flat, easy sand that makes it a family destination. Summer markets fill the promenade, and the town's calendar turns on the mid-August Madonna del Rosario procession.
Museo dell'Olivo (Diano Marina)
The exhibits move from Roman amphorae through medieval monastic cultivation to present-day production, tracing the Taggiasca olive's long presence in the valley.
Santuario di Sant'Antonio (Diano Marina)
The sanctuary hosts the patronal procession each August, when the fishing-boat fleet moves along the seafront under evening lamps.
Oliveti della Valle di Diano
Groves cover the south-facing slopes between the two communes, planted with the small dark olive that underpins Città dell'Olio status and shows up on the table as oil, anchovies and pesto.
Living here
Could you live here?
Diano meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 7,763 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Imperia, a city of 42,580, is 24 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- 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 7,763, down 1.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Imperia, 24 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Imperia, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,400 to €4,500 per m² to buy, €7.50 to €12.30 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 53% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 29 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 1 h 34 min drive
If you are moving here
Most figures here are for Diano Castello and Diano Marina together.
Who lives here
14% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Bangladesh and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 60 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and France. There are 318 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 69% 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, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Pietra Ligure, 31 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Pietra Ligure, 31 km away. The nearest IB school is Deledda International School, 88 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
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 C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 44% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 46% in a high or medium one. Under 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
OLIVE OIL
Taggiasca olive cultivation across the Valle di Diano: Città dell'Olio member, with the Museo dell'Olivo as the regional anchor.
HILLTOP BORGO
Medieval Borghi più belli member on a Roman Dianum site, circled by medieval walls.
BEACH
Longest Bandiera Blu beach on the western Ligurian coast, palm seafront, mild south-facing bay.
Common questions
- What is Diano known for?
- Diano is a twin destination on the Riviera dei Fiori: a medieval hilltop borgo above and a beach resort below, sharing one bay and one olive valley.
- Where is Diano?
- Diano is in the province of Imperia, in Liguria, at 70 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Diano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 29 min by car.
- Can you get to Diano without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Diano?
- About 2 h 52 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Diano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 9 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Diano?
- Andora, Santa Margherita Ligure and Recco.
- How many people live in Diano?
- 7,763 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Diano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Diano is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Imperia, is 24 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Imperia, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 53% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 70 m
- Population: 7,763
- Surface area: 12.78 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 Diano appears in
- The best coastal towns in the province of ImperiaImperia provincecoastal6 towns · smallest 1,067 residents
- The best olive oil towns you can reach by train in LiguriaLiguriaolive oilby train7 towns · smallest 5,050 residents
- The 9 best towns you can get around without steps in LiguriaLiguriastep-free9 towns · smallest 4,882 residents
- The best olive oil towns in the province of ImperiaImperia provinceolive oil9 towns · smallest 601 residents
- The best hidden beach towns in LiguriaLiguriaclean beachhidden10 towns · smallest 553 residents
Similar
Towns like Diano
What all six share with Diano: between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
Andora
Province: Savona
both on the Ligurian coast
Santa Margherita Ligure
Province: Genova
both on the Ligurian coast
Recco
Province: Genova
both on the Ligurian coast
- Written about. No. 24.
Camogli
Province: Genova
both on the Ligurian coast
Vietri sul Mare
Province: Salerno
both on the coast
Pizzo
Province: Vibo Valentia
both on the coast
The letter
Diano 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 Diano comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 99 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.