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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.

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: Via Dante 7, Milan.

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, 43 healthcare facilities and 66 sports facilities in Carrara. There are 4.80 cafés and restaurants per 1,000 residents, fewer than the provincial average of 5.73. 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.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood risk changes from one street to the next, even within the same municipality: for this reason we do not summarise it as a single figure for the whole of Carrara.

The report checks the exact address against the ISPRA national maps and tells you in plain words whether the building falls within an at-risk area. The official map is also available on IdroGEO.

House prices

We do not publish price tables by municipality. The report gives the minimum and maximum price per square metre for the address's zone, from the Revenue Agency's OMI valuations, with the reference half-year. It is a range for the zone, not the value of a specific home.

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.

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 30 grocery shops and supermarkets, 43 healthcare facilities, 66 sports facilities and 11 parks and green areas.

This data is gathered from several providers: services may be missing or closed businesses may still appear. The report counts services within 500 metres and 1 kilometre of the address.

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

Land registry

The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps for Carrara: the report finds the building's parcel, that is its sheet and parcel number, starting from the address.

Data sources

ISTAT code 045003. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.