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Merlara: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Padova, Veneto. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Merlara

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 dell'Industria 86, Merlara.

Merlara, flat farmland in the Bassa Padovana

Merlara is a farming village in the Bassa Padovana, the low plain in the far south-west of the province of Padua, near Montagnana. The landscape is reclaimed Venetian lowland: wide fields, drainage ditches and canals, houses strung along the roads and a compact centre around the church. Padua is a long way off, so for work and services people look to nearby towns in the plain and westwards to the Verona area.

Buyers mostly find detached houses, often with a yard or land, and old farm buildings to restore. The town is in climate zone E, with damp, foggy winters: in a country house built decades ago, insulation and the boiler are costs to plan for. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

The village is losing people. Istat, the national statistics office, counts 2,557 residents in 2023, 9.7% fewer than in 2011, and the average age is 49.9, against 46.5 in the province of Padua. Over-65s make up 29.1% and foreign residents 6.6%.

Earthquakes are not the main hazard, but they are not absent either: Merlara is in seismic zone 3, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.074 g. In an old farmhouse it is worth checking the load-bearing walls and the roof.

On land this low, water is the thing to look at. For each address the report checks the official flood maps and, through the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastre, identifies the building's land parcel.

Key points

  • Farmland in the Bassa Padovana, near Montagnana
  • 2,557 residents, 9.7% fewer than in 2011
  • Average age 49.9, 29.1% over 65
  • Seismic zone 3: check walls and roofs of farmhouses

Overview

Merlara is a municipality in the province of Padova, in Veneto. At the end of 2023 it had 2,557 residents, ranked 83 of 101 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Merlara is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (89 of 101) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.074 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 fallen by 9.7%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (47). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 6.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Merlara declared an average taxable income of 20,691 euros, below the provincial average (26,932 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Merlara is in climate zone E, with 2,421 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 12 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Merlara has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.4 per 1,000 residents.

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 10.8% of the land in Merlara, compared with 18.7% in the province and 11.9% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Merlara is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Veneto in 2025. 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 contaminated sites in Merlara.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Merlara: 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 Merlara 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 43 inhabited census areas in Merlara. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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

ISTAT code 028053. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.