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Brunate: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Como, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Brunate

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 per Civiglio 1, Brunate.

Brunate, the hilltop above Como reached by funicular

Brunate sits on the mountain above Como, at about 700 metres, and is linked to the city by the funicular railway that starts from the lakefront. From the top you can see the first basin of Lake Como and, on clear days, the plain and the Alps. The lighthouse dedicated to Alessandro Volta, in the hamlet of San Maurizio, is one of its best-known landmarks.

The town is residential with a touch of the holiday resort: early twentieth-century villas, houses with gardens and small blocks of flats, often with lake views. People who work in Como can go down by funicular or drive a road full of hairpin bends. The climate is worth considering: zone F, with colder and foggier winters than the city, so insulation and heating weigh on running costs. Incomes are above the provincial average.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 1,596 residents in 2023, down 9.6% on 2011. The average age is 48.3, against 46.3 in the province, and foreign residents make up 7.5%.

Earthquakes are a minor concern: all 147 municipalities in the province of Como are in seismic zone 4, and in Brunate the expected ground acceleration is 0.041 g. On steep hillsides the gradient matters more, and the report measures it at the address along with the official landslide maps.

The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps cover the municipality, so the report goes from the address to the land parcel and the price band for the area.

Key points

  • On the mountain above Como, reached by funicular.
  • Villas and houses with lake views, zone F climate.
  • All 147 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 4.
  • Population down 9.6% since 2011.

Overview

Brunate is a municipality in the province of Como, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,596 residents, ranked 88 of 147 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Brunate is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 147 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.041 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 9.6%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (46). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 7.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Brunate declared an average taxable income of 30,305 euros, above the provincial average (26,761 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Brunate is in climate zone F, with 3,085 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 715 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Brunate has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility, 1 sports facility and 2 parks and green areas.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.5 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Brunate.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 20.5% of the land in Brunate, compared with 12.3% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Brunate is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. 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 contaminated sites in Brunate.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Brunate: 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 Brunate 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 15 inhabited census areas in Brunate. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 78 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 0.9%
  • good 99.1%

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

ISTAT code 013032. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.