Pratovecchio Stia: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Arezzo, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Pratovecchio Stia
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 Lonnano 1, Pratovecchio Stia.
Pratovecchio Stia, the upper Casentino where the Arno begins
The Arno rises here, on Monte Falterona, and flows down through the upper Casentino valley past the two towns that have formed the municipality of Pratovecchio Stia since 2014. Much of the land is covered by the forests of the Foreste Casentinesi national park, and built-up land is a tiny share of the total.
The two centres have different characters. Stia, further upstream, is tied to wool and the traditional Casentino cloth, and keeps its old woollen mill, now a museum; Pratovecchio, further down the valley, has the castle and parish church of Romena on the hills nearby. There are also many hamlets and scattered houses in the mountains. The Arezzo to Stia railway runs right into town, a rare link for a mountain valley; by car Arezzo is under an hour away, and Florence is reached over the Consuma pass.
The population is shrinking: at the end of 2023 there were 5,409 residents, down 10.0% on 2011. The average age is 49.7 against 47.6 in the province of Arezzo, and 30.4% are over 65. Foreign residents, at 11.7%, are a higher share than you might expect in a mountain municipality. Many houses are second homes or stand empty, and the market offers stone houses, flats in the town centres and farmhouses to restore.
The Tuscan Apennines are seismically active. Pratovecchio Stia is in seismic zone 2, like 24 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.196 g. In stone houses, have the walls, floors and roof inspected before buying, and ask what work has been done.
Along the Arno and the streams feeding it, floods can reach the valley floor, while landslides are common on the Casentino slopes. The report checks both for the address and finds the land parcel using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastre.
Key points
- The source of the Arno and the Foreste Casentinesi park.
- The Arezzo to Stia railway runs into town.
- 30.4% over 65, residents down 10.0%.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.196 g.
Overview
Pratovecchio Stia is a municipality in the province of Arezzo, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 5,409 residents, ranked 19 of 36 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pratovecchio Stia is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (24 of 36) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.196 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Pratovecchio Stia, 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 10.0%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (48). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 11.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pratovecchio Stia declared an average taxable income of 23,724 euros, in line with the province (24,383 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Pratovecchio Stia is in climate zone E, with 2,264 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 441 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pratovecchio Stia has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 7 sports facilities and 8 parks and green areas.
There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer 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 2.8% of the land in Pratovecchio Stia, compared with 5.4% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Pratovecchio Stia 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 low. 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 Pratovecchio Stia.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Pratovecchio Stia: 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 Pratovecchio Stia 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 61 inhabited census areas in Pratovecchio Stia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 4.8%
- fair 72.7%
- good 22.5%
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 051041. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.