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Mortara: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Mortara

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: Corso Torino 1, Mortara.

Mortara, rice fields and railways in the Lomellina

Among the rice fields of the Lomellina, the western part of the province of Pavia between the rivers Ticino, Po and Sesia, Mortara has served for centuries as the market and service town for the surrounding farming villages. Outside the area it is best known for its goose salami, which carries protected geographical status.

The railway is an advantage few towns of this size have. Mortara is a junction on the Lombardy and Piedmont network. In Trenord's open timetables its station is served by 3 rail lines, with trains to Milan via Vigevano and connections towards Novara, Alessandria and Pavia. The report measures the distance from the address to the station. The landscape around is rice country: flooded fields in spring, damp and mosquitoes in summer, fog in winter.

The population is stable, with slight growth to 15,471 residents in 2023, up 2.1% on 2011. Mortara ranks 4 by population among the 184 municipalities of the province. The average age, 46.8, matches the province, while foreign nationals are a high share at 17.9%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

For earthquakes, the Lomellina is one of the quietest parts of Lombardy. Mortara is in seismic zone 4 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, like 27 municipalities in the province, while the other 157 are in zone 3; expected ground acceleration is about 0.042 g. In town-centre houses and farmsteads the usual problems are rising damp, roofs and insulation, in climate zone E with cold, damp winters.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report identifies the land parcel from the address. The plain is crossed by streams and by a very dense network of ditches and canals feeding the rice fields, so near watercourses flood hazard must be read for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Main town of the Lomellina, among the rice fields.
  • Station served by 3 lines, trains to Milan via Vigevano.
  • 15,471 residents, foreign nationals at 17.9%.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.042 g.

Overview

Mortara is a municipality in the province of Pavia, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 15,471 residents, among the most populous in the province (4 of 184).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mortara is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Only 27 of 184 municipalities in the province are in zone 4.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.042 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 2.1%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 17.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mortara declared an average taxable income of 24,146 euros, below the provincial average (26,290 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Mortara is in climate zone E, with 2,641 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 108 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mortara has 9 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 11 grocery shops and supermarkets, 14 healthcare facilities, 14 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.6 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.9).

Public transport

Within the municipality there are 1 public transport stops, served by 3 train lines, 1 bus line. That is about 0.1 stops per 1,000 residents.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 12.4% of the land in Mortara, compared with 9.6% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.6 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Mortara 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Mortara, and 12 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 Mortara: 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 Mortara 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 133 inhabited census areas in Mortara. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 75 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.1%
  • fair 20.0%
  • good 58.2%
  • very good 21.7%

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 018102. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.