Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Merano: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Bolzano/Bozen, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Merano

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 Portici 1, Merano.

Merano, the spa town on the Passer and the land book system

Merano fills the basin where the Venosta and Passiria valleys open into the Adige valley, surrounded by mountains, vineyards and apple orchards. The climate is mild for South Tyrol and since the nineteenth century the town has drawn visitors for health cures and holidays: the promenades along the Passer (Passirio) river, the spa, the gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle and the racecourse are all part of its identity. German and Italian are both spoken and local government is bilingual.

Public transport is dense: the municipality has 229 stops served by 35 bus lines, plus the railway that runs down to Bolzano and up the Venosta valley. House prices are high. There are period houses in the centre and in the Maia Alta and Maia Bassa districts, newer blocks towards the valley floor, and farmhouses and villas on the slopes. Provincial rules on subsidised housing can reserve some properties for people who have lived or worked in the province for a certain time, so check before making an offer.

The population is growing: 41,404 residents in 2023, up 10.8% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. Foreign residents make up 17.7%, a high share, and the average age (44.9) is above that of the province of Bolzano, one of the youngest in Italy.

Seismic hazard is at the bottom of the scale. Merano is in zone 4 of the Civil Protection classification, like the other 115 municipalities in South Tyrol, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.044 g. On the slopes, landslides and debris flows from mountain streams matter more, and the report checks them for the address.

There is one important difference from the rest of Italy. South Tyrol uses the land book system: ownership is recorded in the Grundbuch (Libro fondiario) and maps are kept by the Province, not by the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), which does not publish parcels for Merano. The report therefore cannot trace the cadastral parcel and says so clearly, while the other checks on the address work as usual. For ownership details you need a land book search.

Key points

  • 229 stops and 35 bus lines, trains to Bolzano and Venosta.
  • 41,404 residents, up 10.8% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, the lowest.
  • Land book system: parcels not published by the Revenue Agency.

Overview

Merano is a municipality in the province of Bolzano/Bozen, in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. At the end of 2023 it had 41,404 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Merano is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 116 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.044 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 10.8%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 22%). Foreign residents make up 17.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Merano declared an average taxable income of 28,839 euros, in line with the province (28,222 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Merano is in climate zone E, with 2,863 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 325 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Health lists, Merano has 11 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 schools, 22 grocery shops and supermarkets, 43 healthcare facilities, 42 sports facilities and 16 parks and green areas.

There are 1.0 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

Public transport

Within the municipality there are 229 public transport stops, served by 35 bus lines, 1 train line. That is about 5.5 stops per 1,000 residents.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 22.9% of the land in Merano, compared with 2.7% in the province and 2.9% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Merano is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Provincia autonoma di Bolzano 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 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Merano, and 19 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 Merano: 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

For Merano the Revenue Agency does not publish cadastral maps: the land registry here uses the tavolare (land book) system. The report cannot give a parcel reference, but it still checks risks, services and transport at the address and states this clearly.

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 286 inhabited census areas in Merano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 77 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 5.9%
  • good 57.7%
  • very good 36.4%

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 021051. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.