Borgo Val di Taro: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Borgo Val di Taro
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: Localita' Baselica 67, Borgo Val di Taro.
Borgo Val di Taro, the upper Taro valley and its PGI porcini
Borgotaro, as almost everyone calls it, is the main town of the upper Taro valley, in the Apennines of the province of Parma, at around four hundred metres and not far from the borders with Liguria and Tuscany. Its name is tied to the Borgotaro porcino mushroom, protected with a PGI label (Protected Geographical Indication) and gathered in the valley's chestnut and beech woods. The old centre, with its shopping streets and townhouses, serves the smaller mountain villages around it.
Unlike many Apennine towns, Borgotaro is well connected: it has a station on the Pontremolese railway between Parma and La Spezia, and a junction on the A15 motorway a few kilometres away. Parma is about an hour's drive, and the Ligurian coast is not much further. Buyers find flats in the centre, detached houses on the edges and many homes scattered through the hamlets, often stone-built and in need of work.
The population is ageing and shrinking: 6,748 residents in 2023, down 7.2% on 2011. The average age of 49.0 is above the provincial figure (45.8), and over-65s make up 29.7% against 23.4%. Foreign residents account for 10.6%. Declared incomes are below the average for the province of Parma, one of the wealthier in the region.
The municipality is one of the few in the province in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection department's map, 7 out of 44, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.202 g, a medium-high value. For a stone house, find out whether walls and floors have been strengthened; for a block of flats, the design date and any work done since.
The Emilian Apennines have more landslides than most parts of Italy, and many slopes here creep slowly downhill. Landslide hazard and flooding along the Taro are read for the individual address: the report checks them and, using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, traces the plot.
Key points
- Upper Taro valley, home of the PGI porcino mushroom.
- Station on the Parma to La Spezia line, A15 junction nearby.
- Seismic zone 2, acceleration about 0.202 g.
- Over-65s at 29.7%, above the provincial average.
Overview
Borgo Val di Taro is a municipality in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 6,748 residents, ranked 17 of 44 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Borgo Val di Taro is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 7 of 44 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.202 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Borgo Val di Taro, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 7.2%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 10.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Borgo Val di Taro declared an average taxable income of 22,879 euros, below the provincial average (28,491 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Borgo Val di Taro is in climate zone E, with 2,983 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 411 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Borgo Val di Taro has 7 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 11 grocery shops and supermarkets, 10 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.
There are 1.6 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).
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 3.9% of the land in Borgo Val di Taro, compared with 7.6% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.0 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Borgo Val di Taro is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Borgo Val di Taro, 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 Borgo Val di Taro: 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 Borgo Val di Taro 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 105 inhabited census areas in Borgo Val di Taro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 62 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.9%
- fair 51.0%
- good 48.1%
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 034006. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.