Luino: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Varese, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
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Search for an address in Luino
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 Creva 1, Luino.
Luino, the Wednesday market and the Swiss border
On Wednesdays Luino fills up: the weekly market is one of the biggest in northern Italy and draws shoppers from Switzerland too. The town lies on the Lombard shore of Lake Maggiore, in the upper part of the province of Varese, close to where the river Tresa carries the waters of Lake Lugano into the lake. The novelist Piero Chiara was born here and set many of his stories in and around Luino.
The border is only a few kilometres away and shapes daily life. Many residents commute to jobs in the Swiss canton of Ticino as cross-border workers, and Luino station is on the line that crosses into Switzerland towards Bellinzona; open timetable data shows 2 stops served by 2 rail lines. Homes range from flats in the centre and on the lake to detached houses in outlying hamlets such as Creva and Voldomino.
In 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 14,176 residents, down 0.7% on 2011, so almost unchanged. Over-65s are 26.7%, above the 24.7% of the province of Varese, and foreign residents 8.0%. Incomes declared in Italy are below the provincial average, partly because some cross-border workers pay their tax in Switzerland. There are plenty of bars and restaurants for a town this size (6.63 per 1,000 residents against 3.88 in the province), a sign of lake tourism.
All 136 municipalities in the province of Varese are in seismic zone 4 on the scale kept by the Civil Protection Department, and in Luino the expected acceleration is about 0.040 g. In a lakeside home, damp, windows and heating deserve more attention.
Between the shore, the mouth of the Tresa and the slopes behind the town, flood and landslide hazard depends on the exact spot, and the report checks both on the official maps for the address. The Revenue Agency publishes its cadastral maps, so the address can be traced to its land parcel.
Key points
- Lombard shore of Lake Maggiore, a few kilometres from Switzerland.
- 2 railway stops, line towards Bellinzona.
- 14,176 residents, over-65s at 26.7%.
- Seismic zone 4 across the province, acceleration 0.040 g.
Overview
Luino is a municipality in the province of Varese, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 14,176 residents, among the most populous in the province (12 of 136).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Luino is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 136 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.040 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 8.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Luino declared an average taxable income of 20,636 euros, below the provincial average (27,186 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Luino is in climate zone E, with 2,465 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 202 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Luino has 16 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 14 grocery shops and supermarkets, 12 healthcare facilities, 12 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.
There are 1.0 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).
Public transport
Within the municipality there are 2 public transport stops, served by 2 train lines, 1 bus line. That is about 0.1 stops per 1,000 residents.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 16.8% of the land in Luino, compared with 21.1% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Luino is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Luino, and 5 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 Luino: 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 Luino 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 60 inhabited census areas in Luino. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 73 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 4.6%
- good 89.8%
- very good 5.6%
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.
- Public transport timetables (GTFS): Trenord, Regione Lombardia - Trenord, orari ferroviari (GTFS). Licence CC BY 4.0, version 20261111.
- 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 Lombardia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Lombardia. Licence CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio), updated to 15 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 012092. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.