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Carbonate: 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 Carbonate

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 Alessandro Volta 1, Carbonate.

Carbonate, in the south of Como province towards Varese

Carbonate sits in the far south-west of the province of Como, in the belt of plain and low hills stretching towards the Varese and Saronno areas. The land is at around 270 metres, with the village surrounded by woods and residential streets. It belongs to the urban network linking Como, Varese and the Milan hinterland, where people live in one town and work in another.

Buyers here mostly want a detached house or a flat in a quiet area within reach of Milan, Saronno, Tradate or Como. The car is used a lot, and traffic on the local provincial roads should be taken into account. Built-up land takes a sizeable share of the municipality, but the surrounding woods give it breathing space.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 2,950 residents in 2023, up 1.5% since 2011. The average age of 47.1 is just above the provincial 46.3; over-65s make up 24.6% and foreign nationals 5.4%. Declared incomes are above the provincial average.

Carbonate is in seismic zone 4, the lowest, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.039 g, so earthquakes are not a practical concern. For a house from the 1970s or 1980s, energy efficiency matters more, as the climate zone is E with cold winters. The report adds the official flood maps along the local streams and distances to services measured from the exact location of the house.

Key points

  • South-west Como province, towards Varese and Saronno.
  • Detached houses and woods, home for Milan-area workers.
  • 2,950 residents, up 1.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, the lowest.

Overview

Carbonate is a municipality in the province of Como, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,950 residents, ranked 64 of 147 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Carbonate 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 0.039 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 1.5%. 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 5.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Carbonate declared an average taxable income of 28,813 euros, above the provincial average (26,761 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Carbonate is in climate zone E, with 2,449 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 267 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Carbonate has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 1 green area.

There are 1.0 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).

Public transport

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

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 20.0% of the land in Carbonate, 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

Carbonate 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 no contaminated sites in Carbonate.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Carbonate: 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 Carbonate 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 Carbonate. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 3.7%
  • good 96.3%

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 013045. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.