Liguria · La Spezia
Vernazza
The middle village of the coast, the only one with a natural harbor, buried under four meters of mud in October 2011.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 56.
This one is famous. If you want what it offers with fewer people, see our alternatives to the Cinque Terre.
The letter
Vernazza got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 41 min from Genoa
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 697
- J12°
- F14°
- M15°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N17°
- 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
Vernazza sits at sea level, the middle of the five villages along this stretch of coast and the only one with a natural harbor. The houses stack vertically up the gorge of the Vernazzola torrent, painted in faded ochres and pinks, with the square at the harbor marking the seaward end of Via Roma and the social center of the village. On 25 October 2011, a freak rainstorm dropped 22 inches of water in four hours.
The torrent burst its culvert and buried the main street under four meters of mud and debris. Three people died. The village was closed for months, and most of the houses on Via Roma had to be excavated to the second story before it reopened. The harbor, the fortified height above it, and the terraced slopes behind form a single working shape: a landing place guarded from above and fed from the terraces, all of it packed into a gorge narrow enough that a few hours of rain could bury the street from end to end.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 50 min by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 1 h 51 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 1 h 42 min or Parma 2 h 10 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Genoa, Pisa or Florence?
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Doria
The keep and the Belforte tower stand over the harbor, built by the Doria as a defense against Saracen raids.
Chiesa di Santa Margherita d'Antiochia
Fourteenth-century church on a rock platform at the edge of the harbor, documented from 1318, the gothic anchor of the village.
Porto di Vernazza
The only natural harbor in the Cinque Terre, with a small pebble beach and a ferry pier serving the four other villages and Portovenere.
Piazza Marconi
Harbor square at the seaward end of Via Roma, the social center of the village and the point where the 2011 flood ended.
Terrazzamenti Cinque Terre
Drystone-walled terraces climbing 700 meters up the gorge above the village, part of the 1997 UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Living here
Could you live here?
Vernazza is at the end of the road.
- A village of 697. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Levanto, is 35 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- La Spezia, a city of 92,706, is 42 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 697, down 19% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city La Spezia, 42 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital La Spezia, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €3,800 to €5,600 per m² to buy, €10.00 to €15.00 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 50 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 1 h 41 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Germany, against 9% across Italy. 21 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 771 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. La Spezia province ranks 42nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in La Spezia, 11 km as the crow flies. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Genoa, 72 km away. The nearest IB school is The International School in Genoa, 61 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. 22% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 22% in a high or medium one. 35% 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
THE 2011 FLOOD
On 25 October 2011, 22 inches of rain in four hours buried Vernazza under four meters of mud; three died, the village was rebuilt over three years.
CASTELLO DORIA
Round eleventh-century Genovese keep above the harbor with the cylindrical Belforte watchtower, the defense post of the middle Cinque Terre.
TERRAZZAMENTI
Drystone-walled terraces above the village, part of the 1997 UNESCO listing, planted with Sciacchetrà and Vermentino vines.
Common questions
- What is Vernazza known for?
- Vernazza is the middle village of the coast, the only one with a natural harbor, buried under four meters of mud in October 2011.
- Where is Vernazza?
- Vernazza is a comune in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria, at 3 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Vernazza?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 50 min by car.
- Can you get to Vernazza 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 Vernazza?
- About 1 h 42 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Vernazza?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Vernazza?
- Framura, Monterosso al Mare and Portofino.
- How many people live in Vernazza?
- 697 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Vernazza a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Vernazza is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Levanto, is 35 min away. The nearest city, La Spezia, is 42 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in La Spezia, 11 km as the crow flies.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 3 m
- Population: 697
- Surface area: 12.3 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 Vernazza appears in
- The 7 best towns you can reach by train in the province of La SpeziaLa Spezia provinceby train7 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The prettiest villages in the province of La SpeziaLa Spezia provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site within two hours of GenoaNear Genoawithin 2 hoursWorld Heritage8 towns · smallest 506 residents · closest 78 min away
- The 10 smallest villages in LiguriaLiguriasmall10 towns · smallest 126 residents
- The best small coastal towns you can reach by train in LiguriaLiguriacoastalby trainsmall10 towns · smallest 553 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 53.
Portovenere
Province: La Spezia
A Genoese fortress guards the western mouth of the Gulf of Poets, above the rock where a Roman temple to Venus once stood.
15 km away
- Written about. No. 54.
Monterosso al Mare
Province: La Spezia
The westernmost and largest of the five villages, where Eugenio Montale spent the childhood summers that became Ossi di seppia in 1925.
27 min by car
- Written about. No. 17.
Lerici
Province: La Spezia
A fishing harbor under a Pisan-Genoese castle, with the frazione of Tellaro hanging over the rocks at the commune's southern edge.
19 km away
The letter
Vernazza 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.