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Mesola: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Mesola

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 Sacche 1, Mesola.

Mesola, the Este castle and the forest of the Po Delta

Mesola is the north-easternmost municipality in the province of Ferrara, on the Po di Goro, the branch of the delta that forms the border with the Veneto region. The town grew up around the castle the Este dukes built as a hunting lodge at the end of the sixteenth century, and to the south lies the Bosco della Mesola, a nature reserve of holm oaks and pines known for its native deer. The municipality is large and made up of hamlets scattered across reclaimed farmland: Bosco Mesola, Ariano Ferrarese, Massenzatica, Monticelli.

This is extremely low land. The town hall stands almost at sea level and many fields lie below it, kept dry by the pumping stations of the land reclamation boards. For a buyer, water comes before anything else: the report checks the flood maps at the address, and here they depend on the Po embankments and the canal network. With older houses, bear in mind subsidence too, the slow sinking of the ground typical of the delta.

The population is falling fast: 6,417 residents at the end of 2023 according to Istat, the national statistics office, 723 fewer than in 2011, a drop of 10.1%. It is older than the province as a whole, with over-65s at 32.8% against 28.9% and an average age of 51.5, and declared incomes are below the Ferrara average. Houses are cheap and there is plenty on offer; anyone commuting daily, though, faces long distances, with Ferrara about an hour's drive away.

Seismic hazard is modest: Mesola is in zone 3 on the Civil Protection scale, like 20 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.063 g. On soft delta soils, though, foundations matter: if a house has cracks or uneven floors, get a surveyor's opinion.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report reaches the land parcel from the address.

Key points

  • Este castle and the Mesola forest, on the Po di Goro by the Veneto border.
  • Low reclaimed land: check flood hazard at the address.
  • Population down 10.1% since 2011, over-65s at 32.8%.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.063 g.

Overview

Mesola is a municipality in the province of Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 6,417 residents, ranked 15 of 21 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mesola is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (20 of 21) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.063 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 10.1%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (49). 33% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 6.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mesola declared an average taxable income of 19,411 euros, below the provincial average (24,414 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Mesola is in climate zone E, with 2,269 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 1 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mesola has 7 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 5 parks and green areas.

There are 0.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

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 6.2% of the land in Mesola, compared with 7.2% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.1 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Mesola is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna 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 no contaminated sites in Mesola.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Mesola: 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 Mesola 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 49 inhabited census areas in Mesola. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 66 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 40.0%
  • good 60.0%

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 038014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.