Foreign residents in Varenna
Varenna, in the province of Lecco, is home to 7 Britons — 1.05% of its 666 residents. That is notable for a comune of its size.
Across the nationalities we track, Varenna counts 18 foreign residents in total, 2.70% of the population. The largest groups are Britons (7), Swedes (5), Belgians (2).
Over the period 2019–2025, the number of Britons in Varenna has risen, from 4 to 7 (+75%).
Separately, ISTAT's census data shows 11.0% of Varenna's population was born outside Italy — 8.1% outside the EU and 2.9% elsewhere in the EU. ISTAT does not publish this broken down by specific country at comune level, so it isn't directly comparable to the per-nationality citizenship figures above.
Population over time
By nationality
| Nationality | Citizens | Share |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 7 | 1.05% |
| Sweden | 5 | 0.75% |
| Belgium | 2 | 0.30% |
| Germany | 2 | 0.30% |
| Ireland | 1 | 0.15% |
| United States | 1 | 0.15% |
| Argentina | 0 | 0.00% |
| Austria | 0 | 0.00% |
| Australia | 0 | 0.00% |
| Brazil | 0 | 0.00% |
| Canada | 0 | 0.00% |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Denmark | 0 | 0.00% |
| Spain | 0 | 0.00% |
| Finland | 0 | 0.00% |
| France | 0 | 0.00% |
| Greece | 0 | 0.00% |
| Japan | 0 | 0.00% |
| South Korea | 0 | 0.00% |
| Mexico | 0 | 0.00% |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0.00% |
| Norway | 0 | 0.00% |
| Portugal | 0 | 0.00% |
| Russia | 0 | 0.00% |
| Venezuela | 0 | 0.00% |
Country of birth
| Group | Residents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Italy | 593 | 89.04% |
| Born elsewhere in the EU | 19 | 2.85% |
| Born outside the EU | 54 | 8.11% |
Britons over time
Quality of life in Lecco
Full BES profile for Lecco →Lecco on cost vs quality of life (province-level) →
Property prices
Buying in Varenna is well above the Lecco average of €1,309/m². Averaged across 2 OMI micro-zones, which can differ substantially within the same town.
21.4 years of rent here equal the purchase price, close to the national median of 22.2 years.
A ratio between two OMI prices, not a return on investment. It leaves out purchase taxes, IMU, maintenance, financing and the months a place sits empty — all of which push the real figure up. Useful for the question it does answer: whether this town looks expensive to buy relative to what renting in it costs.
Housing here in excellent condition costs 28% more than ordinary condition — €2,375/m² against €1,850.
That gap is what the market charges for a place you don’t have to work on. It is not what the work would cost you — OMI prices property, not builders.
A detached house here averages €2,175/m², against €1,850 for an apartment.
Compared street for street — houses and flats priced in the same neighbourhood — a house costs 18% more per square metre.
OMI prices “Ville e Villini” separately from the apartments every other figure on this page describes. Nationally a house costs about 14% more per square metre, but in 450 comuni it costs less — worth checking rather than assuming.