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Caravate: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Caravate

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 Venti Settembre 1, Caravate.

Caravate, below the Sasso between Laveno and the Valcuvia

A rock face, the Sasso, rises above the houses of Caravate, with the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso reachable on foot from the village. The municipality lies in the north-west of the Varese area, between Lake Maggiore at Laveno and the entrance to the Valcuvia, among small towns close to one another, with Varese about twenty kilometres away.

It is a valley-floor village that grew out from its old centre and then along the provincial roads, next to industrial units and workshops. The built-up share of the territory is high for a municipality of this size. Buyers find detached homes, courtyard houses and small blocks of flats; many residents commute daily to Varese, towards Gallarate or into Switzerland, and traffic on the local roads is part of the equation. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Istat, the national statistics office, counts 2,547 residents in 2023, down 2.5% on 2011. The average age, 46.6, is practically the same as the provincial 46.5; 25.3% are over 65 and 4.8% are foreign residents.

Earthquake risk is low: Caravate is in seismic zone 4, like 135 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.040 g. In older houses, focus on damp, the roof, insulation and the systems.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastre is published and the report traces the address to its land parcel. For homes at the foot of the rock face or near streams, the official landslide and flood maps should be read for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Below the Sasso and the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso
  • Between Laveno and the Valcuvia, Varese about twenty km away
  • 2,547 residents, average age 46.6
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration 0.040 g

Overview

Caravate is a municipality in the province of Varese, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,547 residents, ranked 85 of 136 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Caravate is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 136 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.040 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 2.5%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 4.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Caravate declared an average taxable income of 22,598 euros, below the provincial average (27,186 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Caravate is in climate zone E, with 2,559 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 296 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Caravate has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.4 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

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

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 25.6% of the land in Caravate, compared with 21.1% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.4 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Caravate 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Caravate. 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 Caravate: 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 Caravate 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 17 inhabited census areas in Caravate. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 1.5%
  • good 98.5%

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 012031. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.