Landscape restriction (vincolo paesaggistico)

The restriction arises in two ways. Under article 136 of decreto legislativo 42/2004, the State or the Region declares a specific place to be of notable public interest: a natural beauty spot, a villa with its park, a historic centre, a panoramic view. Under article 142 protection applies directly by law to whole categories of land, including the 300-metre strip along the sea and lake shores, 150 metres on each side of listed rivers and streams, mountains above 1,600 metres in the Alps and 1,200 in the Apennines, woodland, parks and areas of archaeological interest. For many of these categories the statutory protection does not apply in zones A and B of municipal plans as they stood on 6 September 1985 (see homogeneous zone).

Building or renovating is still possible where the restriction applies, on the condition set by article 146: you submit the project and do not start work until landscape authorisation (autorizzazione paesaggistica) is granted, with the opinion of the Soprintendenza (the State heritage office). The authorisation lasts five years and, apart from a few cases, cannot be obtained after the work has been done. It is not needed for routine and extraordinary maintenance, structural consolidation and restoration that do not change the outward appearance of buildings (article 149).

For a buyer it matters most for planned works: an extension, a new façade, a swimming pool. In the report, the restrictions block says whether the area falls within a restriction on the SITAP map of the Ministry of Culture and how far away the nearest one is. The map is indicative and does not cover all of Italy: the answer that counts comes from the Soprintendenza. Method and limits in Landscape, wildfires and noise.