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Cantù: 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 Cantù

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 Milano 1, Cantù.

Cantù, furniture workshops, lace and Brianza hills

Cantù is one of the historic centres of Brianza furniture making. Dozens of furniture firms and workshops still operate here, many of them family-run, and the town has a long tradition of bobbin lace. Many Italians know the name through its basketball club, which has won national titles and European cups. It lies in the southern part of the province of Como, on the last hills before the plain, roughly halfway between Como and Milan.

Commuters mostly look at the train. Published timetables show 2 stations in the municipality served by 3 rail lines, and the report works out the distance from each address to the nearest one: in a spread-out town, with hamlets such as Vighizzolo well away from the centre, that distance matters. By car, Brianza roads are congested at rush hour.

Housing is typical of the area: detached houses with gardens, small blocks of flats, and homes with a workshop or small factory unit next door. In those cases check that any change of use was properly authorised and that the business space does not drag down the value of the living quarters.

Istat, the national statistics office, counts 40,002 residents (2023), up 3.3% on 2011; after Como itself it is the most populous municipality in the province. The average age is 45.8, slightly below the provincial 46.3, over-65s are 23.6% and foreign residents 9.1%. Incomes are slightly above the provincial average.

Earthquake hazard is among the lowest in Italy: all 147 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 4 on the Civil Protection scale, and expected ground acceleration is about 0.044 g. Insulation and heating matter more in climate zone E, with cold, damp winters. The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps; landslides along stream valleys and flooding are checked for the exact address.

Key points

  • 2 railway stations served by 3 lines.
  • 40,002 residents, up 3.3% since 2011.
  • The whole province is in seismic zone 4, low hazard.
  • Furniture district and a bobbin lace tradition.

Overview

Cantù is a municipality in the province of Como, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 40,002 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cantù 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 0.044 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 grown by 3.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 9.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cantù declared an average taxable income of 27,138 euros, in line with the province (26,761 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cantù is in climate zone E, with 2,594 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 369 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cantù has 39 schools and 12 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 22 grocery shops and supermarkets, 38 healthcare facilities, 39 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.

There are 0.9 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

Public transport

Within the municipality there are 2 public transport stops, served by 3 train lines, 1 bus line. That is about 0.0 stops per 1,000 residents.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 38.1% of the land in Cantù, 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

Cantù is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Cantù, and 6 more have 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 Cantù: 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 Cantù 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 193 inhabited census areas in Cantù. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 9.8%
  • good 84.2%
  • very good 6.0%

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 013041. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.