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Marnate: 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

Search for an address in Marnate

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 Cislago 25, Marnate.

Marnate and Nizzolina, just north of Castellanza

Over the last decade few municipalities in the province of Varese have grown as fast as Marnate. The town, with its hamlet of Nizzolina, lies on the edge of the Olona valley, just north of Castellanza and a few minutes from Busto Arsizio and Legnano. Here the built-up areas of the upper Milan belt and the Varese area run into each other: one town's houses end where the next one's begin.

People moving to Marnate are usually after a detached house or a flat in a recent development, with Milan reachable by car on the Autostrada dei Laghi, which has an exit at Castellanza, and Malpensa airport not far away. The land is heavily built up, with housing, small industrial estates and some green space towards the Olona. The official timetables show no railway stops in the municipality, and the number of services per resident is below the provincial average: for shopping, secondary schools and hospitals, people go to the neighbouring towns.

In 2023 Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 8,114 residents, up 11.2% on the 7,299 of 2011. The estimated average age is 45.1, lower than the provincial 46.5, and over-65s make up 21.5%. Foreign residents account for 5.7%. Average incomes are above the Varese provincial average.

Earthquakes are not a practical worry: all 136 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 4, and the expected ground acceleration in Marnate is about 0.039 g. For a house built in the 1970s or 1980s, insulation, windows and the boiler matter more, in climate zone E with cold winters.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report finds the plot. Lower-lying areas towards the Olona valley floor should be checked for flood hazard; on the terrace where most of the town stands, the picture is different.

Key points

  • North of Castellanza, near an exit of the Autostrada dei Laghi.
  • Population up 11.2% since 2011.
  • Average age 45.1, against 46.5 for the province.
  • Seismic zone 4 across the whole province of Varese.

Overview

Marnate is a municipality in the province of Varese, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 8,114 residents, ranked 28 of 136 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Marnate 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 0.039 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 resident population has grown by 11.2%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 5.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Marnate declared an average taxable income of 28,698 euros, above the provincial average (27,186 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Marnate is in climate zone E, with 2,862 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 227 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Marnate has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 4 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

Public transport

The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Marnate.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 45.6% of the land in Marnate, 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

Marnate 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 Marnate; 4 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Marnate: 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 Marnate 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 24 inhabited census areas in Marnate. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 0.3%
  • good 99.7%

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 012098. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.