Colle di Val d'Elsa: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Siena, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Colle di Val d'Elsa
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 Fratelli Bandiera 1, Colle di Val d'Elsa.
Colle di Val d'Elsa, crystal, the upper town and the Piano
Colle di Val d'Elsa is known in Italy as the town of crystal: glassworks shaped its industrial history and a museum in town tells the story of the craft. It is also the birthplace of Arnolfo di Cambio, the architect of Florence Cathedral and the Palazzo Vecchio.
The town has two clearly separate parts. Colle Alta is the medieval upper town, stretched out along a ridge, with palazzi, tower houses and alleys, where you find old flats often spread over several levels. The Piano, or Colle Bassa, lies along the river Elsa and is where most people live, with shops, services and districts built from the post-war years onwards. The surrounding countryside, towards San Gimignano and Monteriggioni, is dotted with farmhouses and estates, many already restored. The Florence to Siena dual carriageway runs past the town, and Poggibonsi, with its railway station, is right next door.
Istat, the national statistics office, counted 21,486 residents in 2023, up 1.1% on 2011. Colle is younger than the rest of the province of Siena, with an estimated average age of 45.8 against 47.6 and 23.6% of residents over 65 against 26.9%. Foreign nationals make up 10.0%. Declared incomes are slightly below the provincial average.
Colle is in seismic zone 3, along with 30 other municipalities in the province, while 4 are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.141 g. For homes in Colle Alta, old masonry buildings with centuries behind them, what counts is the work done on floors, roofs and the ties between walls.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the whole municipality, and the report finds the land parcel from the address. In the Piano, near the Elsa and its tributaries, flood hazard is checked address by address; on the ridge of Colle Alta, slope stability is the thing to look at.
Key points
- Town of crystal, with Colle Alta on the ridge and the Piano by the Elsa.
- Birthplace of Arnolfo di Cambio.
- Average age 45.8, below the provincial 47.6.
- Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.141 g.
Overview
Colle di Val d'Elsa is a municipality in the province of Siena, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 21,486 residents, the third most populous in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Colle di Val d'Elsa is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (31 of 35) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.141 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 grown by 1.1%. The estimated average age is 46 years, lower than the province average (48). 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 10.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Colle di Val d'Elsa declared an average taxable income of 24,278 euros, in line with the province (25,404 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Colle di Val d'Elsa is in climate zone D, with 1,776 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 141 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Colle di Val d'Elsa has 14 schools and 6 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 7 grocery shops and supermarkets, 8 healthcare facilities, 16 sports facilities and 6 parks and green areas.
There are 0.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).
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 7.6% of the land in Colle di Val d'Elsa, compared with 4.0% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.1 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Colle di Val d'Elsa 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Colle di Val d'Elsa, and 3 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 Colle di Val d'Elsa: 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 Colle di Val d'Elsa 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 101 inhabited census areas in Colle di Val d'Elsa. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.1%
- fair 50.6%
- good 49.3%
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
- 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 052012. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.