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Firenze: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Firenze, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Firenze

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 Pisana 1, Firenze.

Florence beyond the postcards

Florence (Firenze) needs little introduction: its historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds Brunelleschi's dome, the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno, and tourism carries great weight in the city's economy. That is precisely why a home buyer benefits from the less famous figures, the ones that describe the Florence where people actually live.

At the end of 2023 the city had 362,613 residents, 1.3% more than in 2011; 36.7% of the province's population lives in the Tuscan capital. Households are small, averaging 1.94 people, and foreign residents make up 15.3%. The estimated average age is 47.6, and 26.4% of residents are over 65, both close to the Tuscan average.

Tourism shows up in the service figures too. Overture Maps data record 2,982 cafés, bars and restaurants, 8.22 per 1,000 residents against a provincial average of 5.69, and 274 schools and education sites. The Ministry of Health lists 118 pharmacies, or 0.33 per 1,000 residents.

On earthquakes, Florence is in seismic zone 3, like 28 of the 41 municipalities in the province; the other 13 are in zone 2. Expected peak ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.131 g, a moderate value. In a city with so many historic palazzi, the most useful question for an older flat is what structural work the building has had and what paperwork backs it up.

Florence's cadastral maps are public, made available by the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), so the report can start from an address and identify the building's sheet and parcel (foglio and particella). By the river or up in the hills, though, landslide and flood hazard and the price range shift from one street to the next, so they are checked for the address, not for the city on average.

Key points

  • 362,613 residents, 36.7% of the province, up 1.3% since 2011.
  • Small households: 1.94 people on average.
  • 8.22 cafés and restaurants per 1,000 residents, well above the provincial average.
  • Seismic zone 3; expected ground acceleration about 0.131 g.

Overview

Firenze is the capital of the province of Firenze, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 362,613 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 37% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Firenze is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (28 of 41) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.131 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 1.3%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 15.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Firenze declared an average taxable income of 30,016 euros, above the provincial average (27,023 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Firenze is in climate zone D, with 1,821 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 50 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Firenze has 274 schools and 118 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 127 grocery shops and supermarkets, 444 healthcare facilities, 420 sports facilities and 95 parks and green areas.

There are 1.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.8).

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 42.1% of the land in Firenze, compared with 7.4% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.3 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Firenze 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 67 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Firenze, and 175 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 Firenze: 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 Firenze 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 2,134 inhabited census areas in Firenze. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.6%
  • fair 20.1%
  • good 72.4%
  • very good 6.9%

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 048017. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.