Gaggio Montano: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Gaggio Montano
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 Porrettana 1, Gaggio Montano.
Gaggio Montano, Bologna's Apennines above the Reno valley
Gaggio Montano is a municipality in the Apennine mountains south of Bologna, stretching from the ridges, with the main village above 600 metres, down to the floor of the Reno valley. There lies the hamlet of Silla, with the industrial area and a station on the Porrettana railway. Porretta Terme is a few minutes away and Bologna about an hour by train or car. The Gothic Line, the German defensive line of the Second World War, ran through here: Brazilian troops fought on Monte Castello in the winter of 1944 to 1945, and a monument in the village remembers them.
For buyers, the contrast between Silla and the main village is sharp. Down in the valley, along the main road and railway, there are blocks of flats and newer houses, handy if you work lower down or in Bologna. Up top, the village and hillside hamlets offer stone houses, views and low prices, but also cold, snowy winters and steep roads. Many homes are second houses owned by Bologna families.
Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 4,835 residents in 2023, down 4.6% since 2011. The average age is 47.3, 25.8% are over 65 and foreign residents make up 11.0%, a high share for a mountain town, linked to jobs in the valley factories. There are 6 schools on record, 1.24 per 1,000 residents against 0.72 in the province.
Gaggio Montano is in seismic zone 3 under the Civil Protection Department classification, yet its expected ground acceleration of about 0.172 g is high for that class, as is common in the Apennines. For stone houses and buildings extended in stages, get a structural survey before buying.
The slopes of the Emilian Apennines are among the most landslide-prone in Italy, and this is the key check to make at the address, together with flood-prone areas near the Reno and its streams. The report does both with official maps and finds the plot in the Revenue Agency cadastre.
Key points
- Bologna Apennines, from the ridges down to Silla on the Reno.
- 4,835 residents, down 4.6% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, but expected acceleration about 0.172 g.
- Landslide-prone slopes: the main check at the address.
Overview
Gaggio Montano is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 4,835 residents, ranked 41 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Gaggio Montano is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (43 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.172 g, a medium-high 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 fallen by 4.6%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Gaggio Montano declared an average taxable income of 23,566 euros, below the provincial average (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Gaggio Montano is in climate zone E, with 2,983 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 682 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Gaggio Montano has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 3 healthcare facilities, 3 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.2 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.4).
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 6.9% of the land in Gaggio Montano, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Gaggio Montano 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Gaggio Montano, 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 Gaggio Montano: 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 Gaggio Montano 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 80 inhabited census areas in Gaggio Montano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 8.5%
- fair 91.4%
- good 0.1%
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 037027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.