Pieve Fosciana: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Lucca, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Nazionale 1, Pieve Fosciana.
Pieve Fosciana, in the Garfagnana near Castelnuovo
Pieve Fosciana is one of the villages of the Garfagnana, the Serchio valley squeezed between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines in the north of the province of Lucca. Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, the main town in the valley, is a few minutes away and provides secondary schools, the hospital and public offices. The village sits at around 370 metres among meadows, chestnut woods and smaller hamlets on the slopes.
Homes range from stone buildings in the old core to detached houses built lower down in recent decades. With the former, budget for work on the roof, walls and services. The climate is zone E, with cold, damp winters, so heating affects running costs. The data list 5 supermarkets and 11 bars and restaurants.
Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 2,221 residents in 2023, down 8.1% since 2011. The average age is 49.2, above 48.1 for the province, and 28.8% of residents are over 65. Foreign nationals make up 5.1%.
The Garfagnana is one of the parts of Tuscany most exposed to earthquakes, as the strong quake of 1920 showed. Pieve Fosciana is in zone 2, like 21 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of 0.203 g. For an old masonry house, ask whether seismic strengthening work has been done and under which permits.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps. Conditions differ between the valley floor and the slopes, so the report checks the official landslide and flood maps at the address.
Key points
- Garfagnana village, minutes from Castelnuovo.
- Population down 8.1% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.203 g.
- Stone houses: check the roof and walls.
Overview
Pieve Fosciana is a municipality in the province of Lucca, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 2,221 residents, ranked 20 of 33 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pieve Fosciana is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (22 of 33) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.203 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Pieve Fosciana, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 8.1%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 5.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pieve Fosciana declared an average taxable income of 23,741 euros, in line with the province (24,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Pieve Fosciana is in climate zone E, with 2,448 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 369 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pieve Fosciana has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 4 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 2.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).
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 4.4% of the land in Pieve Fosciana, compared with 9.2% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Pieve Fosciana is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 Pieve Fosciana.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Pieve Fosciana: 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 Pieve Fosciana 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 27 inhabited census areas in Pieve Fosciana. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 3.9%
- fair 39.2%
- good 56.9%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Toscana, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 046025. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.