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Lucca: 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 Lucca

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 Fillungo 1, Lucca.

Lucca, inside and outside the walls

Lucca's Renaissance walls have survived intact, and a tree-lined promenade now runs along their top all the way round the historic centre. Inside, Piazza dell'Anfiteatro keeps the oval outline of the Roman arena; outside, the city spreads across the plain of the river Serchio. Lucca was an independent republic for centuries and is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini. Today it lives on tourism, trade and services, in a province also known for its paper industry.

The population is growing: 89,234 residents at the end of 2023, 2.3% more than in 2011, and 23.4% of the provincial total. The estimated average age (47.6) and the share of over-65s (26.2%) sit just below the provincial figures. Foreign nationals make up 10.8% of residents.

Lucca is classified in seismic zone 3. That is not the most common picture in its province, where most municipalities (22 of 33) are in zone 2, while the other 11, including the city, are in zone 3. The estimated peak ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.129 g, a moderate value. Even so, for an old house inside the walls or a post-war block, it pays to know what structural work has been carried out.

Overture Maps data count 81 schools and 90 healthcare facilities in Lucca, more per resident than the provincial average, while recorded parks and green spaces are 0.19 per 1,000 residents against 0.31 across the province. The Ministry of Health lists 27 pharmacies.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the municipality's cadastral maps, so the report identifies the building's plot from its address. Inside the walls and out in the villages of the plain alike, landslide and flood hazard and the local price range change from one address to the next, and that is where they need to be checked.

Key points

  • Walled city, former republic and birthplace of Puccini.
  • Population up 2.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, while 22 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
  • Cadastral maps available for the municipality.

Overview

Lucca is the capital of the province of Lucca, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 89,234 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 23% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Lucca is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 11 of 33 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.129 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 2.3%. 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 10.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Lucca declared an average taxable income of 27,121 euros, above the provincial average (24,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Lucca is in climate zone D, with 1,715 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 19 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Lucca has 81 schools and 27 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 41 grocery shops and supermarkets, 90 healthcare facilities, 97 sports facilities and 17 parks and green areas.

There are 1.0 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 15.2% of the land in Lucca, compared with 9.2% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 5.7 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Lucca is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 11 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Lucca, and 26 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 Lucca: 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 Lucca 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 1,053 inhabited census areas in Lucca. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • poor 0.1%
  • modest 9.5%
  • fair 62.9%
  • good 25.3%
  • very good 2.1%

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

ISTAT code 046017. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.