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Molinella: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Molinella

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 Provinciale Superiore 1, Molinella.

Molinella, Bologna's lowlands on the Ferrara border

Molinella is the last municipality on the Bologna plain before the province of Ferrara, north-east of the city, in low, flat countryside shaped by embankments and drainage canals. It was once rice country, worked by the mondine, the women who weeded the paddies, and the strong farm workers' and socialist movement of those years is still part of local memory.

Besides the main town the municipality includes scattered hamlets such as San Pietro Capofiume and Marmorta, small places surrounded by fields. People who work in Bologna can use the local Bologna-Portomaggiore railway, which stops in town, or drive. In the hamlets daily life nearly always depends on a car, while in the town itself schools and shops are close by.

Numbers are stable, with 15,709 residents in 2023, up 0.4% since 2011. The average age is 46.0, slightly below the metropolitan area (46.6), and foreign nationals make up 11.1%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average. For a lowland town there are plenty of schools and education sites, 16, or 1.02 per 1,000 residents against 0.72 in the province.

Molinella is in seismic zone 3, like 43 municipalities in the metropolitan area, but the expected ground acceleration, about 0.162 g, is not low for a plain. The 2012 earthquakes, centred on the plain between Modena and Ferrara, were clearly felt here. Anyone buying a farmhouse, a converted barn or a brick house should ask what structural work has been done and when.

What really separates one address from another is water. The area is crossed by embanked rivers such as the Idice and the Reno and by a network of canals, and being close to an embankment or in a low spot changes the picture. The report checks the flood maps for the address and, using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, identifies the land parcel.

Key points

  • Reclaimed plain between Bologna and the province of Ferrara.
  • 15,709 residents, population stable since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.162 g.
  • Embanked rivers and canals: check flood risk for the address.

Overview

Molinella is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 15,709 residents, ranked 14 of 55 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Molinella is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (43 of 55) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.162 g, a medium-high 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Molinella declared an average taxable income of 24,529 euros, below the provincial average (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Molinella is in climate zone E, with 2,168 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 8 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Molinella has 16 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 9 grocery shops and supermarkets, 9 healthcare facilities, 17 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 1.0 schools per 1,000 residents, more 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 6.1% of the land in Molinella, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.1 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Molinella 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 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Molinella, and one more has 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 Molinella: 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 Molinella 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 102 inhabited census areas in Molinella. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 6.5%
  • fair 61.8%
  • good 31.7%

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 037039. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.