Manerba del Garda: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Brescia, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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For example: Via Trevisago 2, Manerba del Garda.
Manerba del Garda, the Rocca and the Valtènesi shore
On the Brescia shore of Lake Garda, between Desenzano and Salò, Manerba is one of the municipalities of the Valtènesi, the band of glacial hills that slopes down to the water. The town is split into scattered hamlets between the hills and the shore. Its best-known landmark is the Rocca, a headland dropping sheer into the lake, protected together with the Sasso as an archaeological and nature park. Off the coast lies the small island of San Biagio, known as Rabbit Island, which you can walk to when the water is low.
Tourism shapes the housing market. Alongside year-round residents there are second homes, holiday flats and apartment complexes, plus campsites along the shore, and in summer traffic and visitors change the feel of the place. If you plan to live here all year, you will find houses with gardens and blocks of flats on the hills, where a lake view adds a lot to the price. Brescia and the A4 motorway are reached via Desenzano.
There were 5,368 residents in 2023, according to Istat, the national statistics office, up 9.5% since 2011. The average age is 46.0 (45.4 in the province of Brescia), over-65s make up 20.7% and foreign residents 10.9%. Households average 2.02 people and declared incomes are above the provincial average.
On the Brescia side of Lake Garda, earthquakes have to be taken into account. Manerba is in seismic zone 2 of the classification by the Protezione Civile (Civil Protection Department), like 52 municipalities in the province of Brescia, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.160 g. For villas and blocks built during the tourist boom, ask for the structural design and any upgrading work.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps and the report reaches the plot from the address. On the high ground around the Rocca, slope stability matters; near the shore, changes in the lake level. Both are checked for the individual house.
Key points
- Valtènesi, between Desenzano and Salò, with the Rocca on the lake.
- Many second homes and holiday flats.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.160 g.
- Population up 9.5% since 2011.
Overview
Manerba del Garda is a municipality in the province of Brescia, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 5,368 residents, ranked 67 of 205 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Manerba del Garda is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 52 of 205 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.160 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Manerba del Garda, 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 9.5%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 10.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Manerba del Garda declared an average taxable income of 28,416 euros, above the provincial average (26,155 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Manerba del Garda is in climate zone E, with 2,355 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 130 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Manerba del Garda has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 11 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.6 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).
Public transport
The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Manerba del Garda.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 8.3% of the land in Manerba del Garda, compared with 10.5% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.0 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Manerba del Garda 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 no open contaminated sites in Manerba del Garda; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Manerba del Garda: 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 Manerba del Garda 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 52 inhabited census areas in Manerba del Garda. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 62 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.3%
- fair 92.8%
- good 7.0%
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.
- 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 017102. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.