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Comacchio: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Comacchio

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: Corso Giuseppe Mazzini 1, Comacchio.

Comacchio, the lagoon, the valli and the seven Lidi

Comacchio is built on water, on small islands in the lagoon linked by bridges, the Trepponti among them, and crossed by canals. Around it spread the Valli di Comacchio, brackish lagoons where eels have been fished for centuries, within the Po Delta park. The municipality is very large and reaches the sea with its seven beach resorts, the Lidi: Volano, Nazioni, Pomposa, Scacchi, Porto Garibaldi, Estensi and Spina.

For buyers these are two worlds. The town is lived in all year round, with low houses facing the canals; the Lidi are a holiday-home market, with flats and villas full in summer and largely shut in winter. Near the sea, salt air, damp and upkeep matter, and before buying ask what it costs to keep the house open in the colder months. Ferrara and Ravenna are reached by car.

At the end of 2023 there were 22,054 residents, down 2.6% on 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics office. Comacchio is number 3 in the province of Ferrara by population. It is an older population, with an average age of 50.4 against 49.2 for the province and over-65s at 29.6%. Foreign residents make up 6.1%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Water is the main issue here. Much of the land was reclaimed from marshes, lies at or below sea level and stays dry thanks to pumping stations, and the ground is slowly sinking. On the coast, sea storms are a factor. The report checks the official flood maps at the address, including flooding from the sea.

Earthquake hazard is moderate: Comacchio is in seismic zone 3, like 19 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.099 g. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report finds the land parcel from the address.

Key points

  • A town on lagoon canals, inside the Po Delta park.
  • Seven beach resorts, mostly holiday homes.
  • 22,054 residents, over-65s at 29.6%.
  • Reclaimed land below sea level; seismic zone 3.

Overview

Comacchio is a municipality in the province of Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 22,054 residents, the third most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Comacchio is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (20 of 21) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.099 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 2.6%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 6.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Comacchio declared an average taxable income of 20,410 euros, below the provincial average (24,414 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Comacchio is in climate zone E, with 2,400 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 0 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Comacchio has 14 schools and 13 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 31 grocery shops and supermarkets, 8 healthcare facilities, 35 sports facilities and 11 parks and green areas.

There are 1.4 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more 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 5.5% of the land in Comacchio, compared with 7.2% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.8 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Comacchio is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Comacchio, 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 Comacchio: 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 Comacchio 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 171 inhabited census areas in Comacchio. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 73 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 21.3%
  • good 49.9%
  • very good 28.8%

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

ISTAT code 038006. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.