Homogeneous zone (planning zones A, B, C, D, E, F)
Zona territoriale omogenea (ZTO), from decreto ministeriale 2 aprile 1968, n. 1444
The six categories, A to F, that Italian municipal plans use to divide their territory: historic centre, built-up town, expansion, industry, farming, public facilities.
The homogeneous zones (zone territoriali omogenee) were set by ministerial decree 1444 of 1968, in article 2, and ever since Italian municipal plans have used them to say what each part of the territory is:
| Zone | What it covers |
|---|---|
| A | historic centres and areas of historic, artistic or environmental value, with their surroundings |
| B | areas already built up, fully or partly, other than zone A |
| C | areas set aside for new building, still empty or lightly built |
| D | areas for industrial or similar sites |
| E | farmland |
| F | facilities of general interest, such as schools, hospitals, parks |
A zone B counts as "partly built up" when buildings cover at least one eighth of the land and density exceeds 1.5 cubic metres per square metre. The same decree ties density limits, heights and distances to the zones: new buildings outside zone A need at least 10 metres between walls with windows and the walls of buildings opposite.
For a buyer the letter matters. In zone A new building faces tight limits on density and height, tied to the historic buildings around it. In zone E the decree allows homes at most 0.03 cubic metres per square metre of land. A plot in zone C is normally where the plan expects building to happen. Some recent plans use their own names, but the zone can be traced in the plan's rules and in the planning use certificate. The landscape restriction also takes account of zones A and B as they stood in 1985.
In the report, the block on the municipal plan gives the zone where data exist: in Lombardy, Veneto (where the Region maps municipal zones back to the letters A to F), the province of Bolzano and the metropolitan city of Turin. See What can be built and the source page Municipal plans.
Official source: www.camera.it
Related entries
Check an address
Enter the address: the report summarises risks, local prices, population, services and transport, with the source for every figure.
For example: Via Dante 7, Milan.