Liguria · Savona
Zuccarello
A 279-person medieval borgo in the Neva valley above Albenga, founded by the Marquises of Clavesana in 1248, birthplace of Ilaria del Carretto.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Zuccarello is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 22 min from Genoa
- Population
- 279
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M20°
- J24°
- J28°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Zuccarello sits in the lower Neva valley, seven kilometers north of Albenga and the coast. The borgo was founded in 1248 by the inhabitants of the surrounding valley together with the Marquises of Clavesana, laid out as a single porticoed street that still runs the length of the town, with the bridge closing it off to the south and the church marking its far end to the north. The castle stands above both, on the hill, the seat from which the marquises held the place.
The Marquisate of Zuccarello passed to the Del Carretto branch and ruled the upper valley as an independent fief until the seventeenth century. It was into this family that the woman born in the town in 1379 belonged, and it was this family's alliance with Lucca that took her away from it: she married to seal the connection between the two houses and died at twenty-six giving birth to her second daughter. The valley that produced her is a minor tributary above a coastal town, and the marble sarcophagus that made her name lasting was carved and placed far from here. What remains in Zuccarello is the setting rather than the monument: the street, the bridge, the ruined seat of the family, and a house pointed to as the one where she was born.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 17 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 2 h 14 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 2 h 40 min.
Coming by train into Genova Piazza Principe? Zuccarello is about 1 h 21 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Ponte Medievale sul Neva
Late medieval, restored in the nineteenth century. The single arch clears the riverbed in one span, and the hump in the deck is steep enough to hide the far bank until the crown of the arch.
Via Centrale
The length of it reads as one built gesture rather than a row of separate houses: the arcades never break stride from one end of the borgo to the other.
Castello dei Del Carretto
Ruined fortress on the hill above the village, residence of the Del Carretto marquises, four cylindrical towers and a central keep.
Chiesa di San Bartolomeo
Sixteenth-century parish church at the northern end of the borgo, single nave, Baroque altar from the eighteenth century.
Casa natale di Ilaria del Carretto
House identified by tradition as the birthplace of Ilaria, standing ordinary among its neighbors on the street, with nothing to mark it out except the identification itself, the marble likeness Jacopo della Quercia carved of her lies elsewhere, in Lucca.
Living here
Could you live here?
Zuccarello is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 279, with Albenga (23,539 people) 14 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Imperia, a city of 42,580, is 46 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 279, down 8.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Imperia, 46 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Albenga, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,300 to €1,550 per m² to buy, €3.60 to €4.50 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: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 17 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 1 h 22 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, against 9% across Italy. There are 219 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 52% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Savona province ranks 65th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Pietra Ligure, 12 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest IB school is Deledda International School, 73 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 at the 2025 rate, 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. 34% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 45% in a high or medium one. 2% 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
ILARIA DEL CARRETTO
Born here 1379, married into Lucca, died at 26 in childbirth, sleeping marble figure carved by Jacopo della Quercia is in the cathedral of San Martino.
PONTE MEDIEVALE
Single-arched stone humpback bridge over the Neva at the southern gate of the borgo, one of the most photographed in western Liguria.
1248 PORTICOES
Founding plan of 1248 still legible in the long porticoed main street, continuous arcades on both sides through the whole borgo.
Common questions
- What is Zuccarello known for?
- Zuccarello is a 279-person medieval borgo in the Neva valley above Albenga, founded by the Marquises of Clavesana in 1248, birthplace of Ilaria del Carretto.
- Where is Zuccarello?
- Zuccarello is a comune in the province of Savona, in Liguria, at 130 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Zuccarello?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 17 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Zuccarello?
- About 2 h 40 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Zuccarello?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Zuccarello?
- Castellaro Lagusello, Fortunago and Badalucco.
- How many people live in Zuccarello?
- 279 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Zuccarello a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Zuccarello is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Albenga, 14 min). The nearest city, Imperia, is 46 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Albenga, 7 km as the crow flies.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 130 m
- Population: 279
- Surface area: 10.81 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 Zuccarello appears in
- The best towns known for their meat within two hours of GenoaNear Genoawithin 2 hoursmeat zone7 towns · smallest 126 residents · closest 72 min away
- The best towns known for their meat within two hours of TurinNear Turinwithin 2 hoursmeat zone7 towns · smallest 126 residents · closest 71 min away
- The best olive oil towns within two hours of TurinNear Turinwithin 2 hoursolive oil zone8 towns · smallest 126 residents · closest 108 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of SavonaSavona provinceprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 126 residents
- The 10 best hill towns within 90 minutes of GenoaNear Genoahill townwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 192 residents · closest 41 min away
- The 10 smallest villages in LiguriaLiguriasmall10 towns · smallest 126 residents
Similar
Towns like Zuccarello
What all six share with Zuccarello: inland, away from the coast
Castellaro Lagusello
Province: Mantova
both under 1,000 people · both near sea level
Fortunago
Province: Pavia
both under 1,000 people
Badalucco
Province: Imperia
both near sea level
- Written about. No. 57.
Brugnato
Province: La Spezia
both near sea level
Volpedo
Province: Alessandria
both near sea level
Ovada
Province: Alessandria
both near sea level
The letter
Zuccarello 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 Zuccarello comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Camogli, 86 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.