Formigine: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Formigine
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 Pietro Giardini Nord 1, Formigine.
Formigine, the castle and the ceramic tile district
On the road from Modena to Sassuolo, where the plain meets the first hills, Formigine belongs to the ceramic tile district, one of Italy's best-known industrial clusters. The main town gathers around its medieval castle, restored and open to visitors, while the outlying villages of Casinalbo, Colombaro, Corlo and Magreta each have their own centre, with detached houses, small villas and low-rise flats.
For anyone working in Modena or in the district's factories, distances are short. The local Modena to Sassuolo railway stops in the municipality; otherwise people drive. Choosing between the main town and the villages changes what you can reach on foot, how much lorry traffic you get and how close you are to the plants.
Growth is steady: 34,478 residents in 2023 according to Istat, the national statistics office, up 2.4% since 2011. The mean age is 45.0, with 22.0% over 65 against 23.7% in the province. Declared incomes are above the Modena average, and sports provision is generous: 44 facilities, 1.28 per thousand residents against 0.89 across the province.
Formigine is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, one of only 7 municipalities in the province in that class, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.163 g. The 2012 earthquake hit mainly the northern lowlands of the province, but it made everyone more careful: for houses and industrial buildings, ask for the year of construction and whether structural checks have been carried out.
Magreta lies close to the river Secchia, and other areas are crossed by canals and streams, so flood hazard is checked at the address, along with the land parcel in the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.
Key points
- Medieval castle and villages in the ceramic tile district.
- Seismic zone 2, shared with only 7 towns in the province.
- Sport: 1.28 facilities per thousand, province 0.89.
- 34,478 residents, up 2.4% since 2011.
Overview
Formigine is a municipality in the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 34,478 residents, among the most populous in the province (4 of 47).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Formigine is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 7 of 47 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.163 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Formigine, 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 grown by 2.4%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 6.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Formigine declared an average taxable income of 30,665 euros, above the provincial average (27,632 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Formigine is in climate zone E, with 2,286 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 82 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Formigine has 16 schools and 10 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 14 grocery shops and supermarkets, 22 healthcare facilities, 44 sports facilities and 9 parks and green areas.
There are 0.5 schools 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 22.0% of the land in Formigine, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 19.3 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Formigine 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 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Formigine, and one more has 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 Formigine: 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 Formigine 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 169 inhabited census areas in Formigine. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 2.9%
- fair 43.1%
- good 54.0%
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 Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- 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 036015. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.