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Fidenza: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Fidenza

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: Frazione Castione dei Marchesi 1, Fidenza.

Fidenza, a cathedral on the Via Francigena and the Via Emilia

Until the twentieth century Fidenza was called Borgo San Donnino, after the saint to whom its Romanesque cathedral is dedicated, a stop for pilgrims on the Via Francigena. It sits on the Via Emilia, the old Roman road between Parma and Piacenza, where the plain begins to rise towards the hills of Salsomaggiore, and it is the largest town in the province after Parma itself.

The location is handy for getting about. The station is on the Milan to Bologna line and also has trains to Cremona and Salsomaggiore, while the A1 motorway junction is right on the edge of town. Next to the motorway is Fidenza Village, the outlet centre that draws shoppers from across northern Italy.

The town is growing: 27,265 residents in 2023, 1,744 more than in 2011, an increase of 6.8%. The estimated average age, 45.2, is close to the provincial figure, and 23.5% of residents are over 65. Foreign nationals make up 15.3%. Declared incomes are a little below the average for the province of Parma, which is a high one.

The province has 7 municipalities in seismic zone 2 and all the rest in zone 3. Fidenza is in zone 3 on the Civil Protection scale, but the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area, about 0.149 g, is near the top of its band. For a block of flats from the 1960s or 1970s, ask whether structural checks have been carried out; for a new house, ask for the design under current seismic rules.

The Stirone stream, protected by a regional park, runs through the municipality. Flooding and other natural hazards are checked by the report for the exact address, and the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps let it find the land parcel. Winters are cold and foggy (climate zone E).

Key points

  • Romanesque cathedral on the Via Francigena, town on the Via Emilia.
  • Population up 6.8% since 2011.
  • Milan to Bologna railway and an A1 junction on the edge of town.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.149 g.

Overview

Fidenza is a municipality in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 27,265 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Fidenza is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (37 of 44) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.149 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 6.8%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 15.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Fidenza declared an average taxable income of 27,463 euros, in line with the province (28,491 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Fidenza is in climate zone E, with 2,503 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 75 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Fidenza has 22 schools and 8 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 21 grocery shops and supermarkets, 16 healthcare facilities, 28 sports facilities and 11 parks and green areas.

There are 0.8 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 13.8% of the land in Fidenza, compared with 7.6% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 12.9 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Fidenza 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Fidenza, and 9 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 Fidenza: 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 Fidenza 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 132 inhabited census areas in Fidenza. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 75 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.5%
  • fair 27.7%
  • good 48.0%
  • very good 22.7%

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 034014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.