Liguria

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

Before: documents, housing, school. First week: codice fiscale, SIM, bank account. First month: residence permit if non-EU, residence, SSN registration, then the driving licence within a year. Household goods duty-free for arrivals from outside the EU, car to be re-registered.

The coastal railway Ventimiglia–Genoa–La Spezia is the backbone of everything: Trenitalia regional trains, Cinque Terre Express, Intercity. Genoa airport; ferries from Genoa, Savona and La Spezia to Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, Spain and North Africa. Motorways with permanent roadworks; Riviera dei Fiori cycle path.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

Five ASLs numbered from west to east (1 Imperiese, 2 Savonese, 3 Genovese, 4 Chiavarese, 5 Spezzino) plus the San Martino Polyclinic, Gaslini and Galliera in Genoa. The governing body A.Li.Sa. became Liguria Salute in 2025 and then ATS Liguria. Regional CUP Liguria and Electronic Health Record.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

Ports and logistics, shipbuilding and defence, high tech and health care in Genoa; seasonal tourism along the whole coast; flower growing in the west. Employment around the national average, below the rest of the North. Job centres run by ALFA Liguria.

A single public university, the University of Genoa, with campuses in Genoa, Savona, La Spezia and Imperia; in Genoa also the Accademia Ligustica, the Paganini Conservatory and the Italian Institute of Technology for doctorates. Grants, halls and canteens managed by ALiSEO.

Three provinces and one Metropolitan City, ordinary statute, capital Genoa. No widespread minority language except Occitan in a few Imperia valleys. Patron saints: St John the Baptist in Genoa (24 June), St Joseph in La Spezia (19 March).

Mild Mediterranean climate on the coast, with winters among the gentlest in northern Italy; intense short autumn rains cause flash floods (Genoa 2011 and 2014, Cinque Terre 2011). Colour-coded Allerta Liguria warning system. Low seismicity, slightly higher around Imperia. Good air.

Two UNESCO sites: Genoa's Strade Nuove and Palazzi dei Rolli; Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the islands. Cinque Terre National Park with the Cinque Terre Card, capped trails on some days and the paid Via dell'Amore; Portofino, Ligurian Alps, Beigua geopark. Municipal tourist tax.