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Fosciandora: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Fosciandora

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 San Sebastiano 1, Fosciandora.

Fosciandora, Garfagnana slopes above the Serchio

Fosciandora is a municipality in the Garfagnana, the Serchio valley north of Lucca, enclosed between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines. The village and its hamlets lie on the slopes above the river at around four hundred metres, among woods and small terraced plots.

The Serchio valley floor, with the main road and the Lucca to Aulla railway, is the way to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, the valley's main town, and to Lucca. For a buyer, what matters most are the access roads to the hamlets, often narrow and steep, the exposure to the sun and the condition of the stone houses. The climate is zone E, with damp, cool winters.

Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 551 residents in 2023, 70 fewer than in 2011, a fall of 11.3%. The average age is 51.3, compared with 48.1 in the province of Lucca, and over-65s make up 31.4%. Foreign nationals account for 9.3% and households average 2.22 people. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The Garfagnana is one of Tuscany's earthquake areas: in the province of Lucca 22 municipalities are in zone 2 and 11 in zone 3, and Fosciandora is in zone 2, with an expected acceleration of about 0.202 g. For a stone house you need to know whether work has been done on walls, floors and roof, and it is worth having a surveyor see it before the preliminary contract.

On the valley slopes landslides are the first hazard to check, and near the Serchio floods too. The report checks both on the official maps for the address and, using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, finds the plot.

Key points

  • Garfagnana municipality on the slopes above the Serchio.
  • Over-65s at 31.4%, residents down 11.3%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.202 g.
  • Slope landslides and Serchio floods to check.

Overview

Fosciandora is a municipality in the province of Lucca, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 551 residents, among the smallest in the province (32 of 33).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Fosciandora is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (22 of 33) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.202 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Fosciandora, 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 11.3%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (48). 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Fosciandora declared an average taxable income of 21,340 euros, below the provincial average (24,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Fosciandora is in climate zone E, with 2,449 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 390 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Fosciandora has 1 school and 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.5 per 1,000 residents.

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 2.6% of the land in Fosciandora, compared with 9.2% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Fosciandora 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 no contaminated sites in Fosciandora.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Fosciandora: 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 Fosciandora 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 10 inhabited census areas in Fosciandora. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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

ISTAT code 046014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.