Alto Reno Terme: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Alto Reno Terme
The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.
For example: Via Nazionale 1, Alto Reno Terme.
Alto Reno Terme, Porretta and the upper Reno valley
Alto Reno Terme was formed by merging Porretta Terme and Granaglione, high in the Bologna Apennines where the Reno valley reaches the border with Tuscany. Porretta is the main town, with the thermal baths that gave it its name and a soul music festival that fills it with visitors every summer; Granaglione and the other hamlets sit higher up on wooded slopes.
The Porrettana railway between Bologna and Pistoia stops at Porretta and is the easiest link to Bologna; by car you follow the main road down the valley. Buyers can choose between houses in town, close to the station and services, and mountain houses in the hamlets, often second homes and more cut off in winter.
There are 7,050 residents (2023), up 1.2% since 2011, which is unusual in the mountains. The population is older than the metropolitan area average: 48.3 against 46.6, with over-65s at 28.0%. Foreign residents make up 11.8%, and households are small, 2.08 people on average. Bars and restaurants are more common than usual, 7.52 per 1,000 residents against 4.85 in the province, a sign of spa and mountain tourism.
The municipality is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, but its expected ground acceleration, about 0.191 g, is high for that class: the Apennines between Emilia and Tuscany have a long record of earthquakes. In the stone houses of the hamlets, check walls, roofs and the ties between walls and floors before signing.
The slopes are the biggest issue, though. In a narrow, steep valley landslides are frequent, and the Reno and its tributaries can rise quickly. The report checks the landslide and flood maps for the address and uses the cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate).
Key points
- Porretta and Granaglione, upper Reno valley, on the Porrettana railway.
- Population up 1.2% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, but high expected acceleration: about 0.191 g.
- Steep slopes: landslide hazard to check address by address.
Overview
Alto Reno Terme is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 7,050 residents, ranked 32 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Alto Reno Terme is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (43 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.191 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 1.2%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (47). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Alto Reno Terme declared an average taxable income of 25,005 euros, below the provincial average (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Alto Reno Terme is in climate zone E, with 2,648 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 349 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Alto Reno Terme has 9 schools. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 6 sports facilities and 8 parks and green areas.
The data shows no pharmacies within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
Public transport
We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 5.0% of the land in Alto Reno Terme, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Alto Reno Terme is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Alto Reno Terme, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Alto Reno Terme: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.
House prices
The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.
Land registry
The cadastral maps for Alto Reno Terme are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.
Liveability area by area
The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 139 inhabited census areas in Alto Reno Terme. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 5.8%
- fair 68.1%
- good 26.1%
Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.
The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out
Data sources
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 037062. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.