Fontaniva: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Padova, Veneto. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Fontaniva
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 Chiesa 1, Fontaniva.
Fontaniva, on the Brenta beside Cittadella
The Brenta forms Fontaniva's western boundary, and the town lives closely with the river: embankments, gravel beds, small lakes left by old quarries and irrigated fields. This is the Alta Padovana, just west of Cittadella, the walled town that serves as the local centre for secondary schools, offices and shopping.
Fontaniva is a place of detached houses, small businesses and farming, with the hamlet of San Giorgio in Brenta and several scattered clusters. Distances are short: Cittadella station, with trains to Padua, Vicenza, Treviso and Bassano, is a few minutes' drive. Buyers here are often after a house with a garden at lower prices than in the towns around Padua, accepting that the car is needed for almost everything.
The population has hardly moved: 8,069 residents in 2023 according to Istat, the national statistics institute, 1.2% fewer than in 2011. Households average 2.46 people, above the Italian average, and the average age of 45.4 is lower than the 46.5 of the province of Padua. Over-65s make up 23.0%, foreign residents 10.6%. Average income is a little below the provincial figure.
On earthquakes, Fontaniva sits in the most exposed band of the province. The Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile) places it in seismic zone 2, like 12 municipalities in the province in total, and the expected ground acceleration is about 0.159 g. The practical advice applies above all to houses built between the 1960s and the 1980s, common here: ask for the structural documents and have an engineer judge whether work is needed, which may also qualify for Italian tax relief.
The cadastral maps are available and the report finds the plot from the address. Near the Brenta and the quarry lakes, flood hazard changes from one house to the next and should be checked for the exact address.
Key points
- On the Brenta, west of Cittadella, with San Giorgio in Brenta.
- Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.159 g.
- Households of 2.46 people on average; foreign residents 10.6%.
- Near the Brenta, check flood hazard house by house.
Overview
Fontaniva is a municipality in the province of Padova, in Veneto. At the end of 2023 it had 8,069 residents, ranked 35 of 101 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Fontaniva is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 12 of 101 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.159 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Fontaniva, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 1.2%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 10.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Fontaniva declared an average taxable income of 25,148 euros, below the provincial average (26,932 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Fontaniva is in climate zone E, with 2,431 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 44 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Fontaniva has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 6 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.
There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).
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 22.6% of the land in Fontaniva, compared with 18.7% in the province and 11.9% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.7 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Fontaniva is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Veneto 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 no contaminated sites in Fontaniva.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Fontaniva: 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 Fontaniva 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 64 inhabited census areas in Fontaniva. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 8.2%
- fair 78.7%
- good 13.0%
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 Veneto, 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 028038. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.