Carrara: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Massa-Carrara, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
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Search for an address in Carrara
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: Viale Venti Settembre 0, Carrara.
Carrara, the marble quarry town
Above Carrara, the Apuan Alps are scored with the white cuts of the quarries. This is where the marble Michelangelo chose for his sculptures came from, and quarrying and working stone are still at the heart of the local economy, together with the port at Marina di Carrara, where the blocks are shipped. The town also has a fine arts academy with deep ties to sculpture.
Carrara is one of the two towns that give their names to the province of Massa-Carrara, in Tuscany, but it is the smaller of the pair: 59,757 residents at the end of 2023, or 32.0% of the provincial total. It has lost 7.6% of its population since the 2011 census. The estimated average age is 48.9, and 28.1% of residents are over 65, above the Tuscan average of 26.5%. Foreign nationals make up 8.5%.
In seismic terms Carrara is in zone 3, which is almost the exception here: 14 of the province's 17 municipalities are in zone 2, and only 3, Carrara included, are in zone 3. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area, about 0.136 g, is moderate, although towards the upper end of the zone 3 band. For a building that predates recent anti-seismic rules, ask when it was designed and what work has been done on it.
Overture Maps data record 53 schools, 55 healthcare facilities and 65 sports facilities in Carrara. There are 5.62 cafés and restaurants per 1,000 residents, fewer than the provincial average of 6.50. The Ministry of Health lists 20 pharmacies.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes Carrara's cadastral maps, and the report uses them to find a building's sheet and parcel (foglio and particella) from its address. Between quarry mountains, plain and coast the municipality is very varied, which is why landslide and flood hazard and the local price range are assessed address by address, never with a single verdict for the whole town.
Key points
- Marble town of the Apuan Alps, with its port at Marina di Carrara.
- 59,757 residents, down 7.6% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, like only 3 of the 17 municipalities in the province.
- Cadastral maps published by the Revenue Agency.
Overview
Carrara is the capital of the province of Massa-Carrara, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 59,757 residents, the second most populous in the province. 32% of the province's residents live here.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Carrara is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 3 of 17 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.136 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 resident population has fallen by 7.6%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 8.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Carrara declared an average taxable income of 25,335 euros, above the provincial average (23,864 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Carrara is in climate zone D, with 1,601 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 100 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Carrara has 53 schools and 20 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 31 grocery shops and supermarkets, 55 healthcare facilities, 65 sports facilities and 9 parks and green areas.
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 30.2% of the land in Carrara, compared with 7.3% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 9.0 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Carrara is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list 53 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Carrara, and 65 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 Carrara: 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 Carrara 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 324 inhabited census areas in Carrara. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 1.5%
- fair 29.7%
- good 59.0%
- very good 9.8%
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 Toscana, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- 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 045003. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.