Brescello: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Reggio nell'Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Brescello
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: Strada della Cisa 1, Brescello.
Brescello, the Po town of Don Camillo and Peppone
Anyone who has seen the Don Camillo films already knows Brescello's square: Giovannino Guareschi's stories were filmed here in the 1950s, and today the town has statues of the priest and the communist mayor and a museum about them. It lies in the lowlands of the province of Reggio Emilia, on the right bank of the Po, near where the Enza flows into it. Beneath the town lies Roman Brixellum.
The Po shapes daily life: the main embankment, the floodplain planted with poplars, Lombardy on the far bank. The Parma to Suzzara railway has a station, called Brescello-Viadana, and Parma and Reggio Emilia are within driving distance. People live in detached houses and small blocks of flats; the data counts 45 services, with slightly more bars and restaurants per head than the provincial average.
The population is stable: 5,575 residents in 2023, up 0.5% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 44.5 against 45.3 for the province, over-65s are 21.1% and foreign residents 13.2%. Declared incomes are just below the Reggio Emilia average.
Brescello is in seismic zone 3, like 34 of the 42 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.095 g. On the Po plain, soft river sediments can amplify shaking, so for an older house ask what foundations it has and whether any work has been done on the walls.
The main hazard is water. Areas near the embankment and in the floodplain are in a very different position from the centre, and the report checks flood hazard for the address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so the plot can be traced.
Key points
- The town of the Don Camillo films, on the banks of the Po.
- Brescello-Viadana station on the Parma to Suzzara line.
- 5,575 residents in 2023, up 0.5% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3; near the embankment, check flood hazard.
Overview
Brescello is a municipality in the province of Reggio nell'Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 5,575 residents, ranked 28 of 42 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Brescello is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (34 of 42) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.095 g, a moderate 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 13.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Brescello declared an average taxable income of 26,306 euros, in line with the province (27,273 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Brescello is in climate zone E, with 2,436 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 24 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Brescello has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 4 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.7 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 16.3% of the land in Brescello, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.4 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Brescello 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 no open contaminated sites in Brescello; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Brescello: 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 Brescello 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 55 inhabited census areas in Brescello. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 9.7%
- fair 61.7%
- good 28.6%
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 035006. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.