Prignano sulla Secchia: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Prignano sulla Secchia
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 Nuova 494, Prignano sulla Secchia.
Prignano sulla Secchia, hills above the Sassuolo tile district
From the floor of the Secchia valley the road climbs to Prignano, in the Modena hills overlooking the valley from the Modena side, with Reggio Emilia on the opposite bank. Below lies the ceramic tile district of Sassuolo and Fiorano, the main source of jobs in the area; the municipality, with its town hall at around 550 metres, is made up of a main village and scattered hamlets among woods, fields and eroded clay slopes.
People who choose Prignano want space and quiet within reasonable reach of work, and find detached houses, farm buildings to restore and newer homes in the hamlets. The daily drive does mean bends and climbs, and in winter snow can slow the roads down. Average declared incomes are close to, if a little below, those of the province of Modena.
The population is stable: 3,809 residents in 2023, up 1.0% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The estimated average age is 47.1 against 45.8 in the province, over-65s make up 24.8% and foreign residents 6.9%.
The province of Modena has 7 municipalities in seismic zone 2 and 40 in zone 3 of the Civil Protection Department's scale. Prignano is in zone 3, but its expected ground acceleration, about 0.159 g, is among the highest in that band: for a stone house or farm building to restore, the plans should include structural improvements too.
The real issue here is landslides. The clay slopes of the Modena Apennines move often, and conditions change a great deal from one hamlet to the next. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so the report goes from the address to the plot and checks the official landslide maps for that point: the first thing to look at before making an offer.
Key points
- Modena hills on the Secchia valley, above the tile district.
- 3,809 residents in 2023, stable since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.159 g.
- Clay slopes: landslides are the first thing to check.
Overview
Prignano sulla Secchia is a municipality in the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 3,809 residents, ranked 33 of 47 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Prignano sulla Secchia is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (40 of 47) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.159 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 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 6.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Prignano sulla Secchia declared an average taxable income of 26,289 euros, in line with the province (27,632 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Prignano sulla Secchia is in climate zone E, with 2,975 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 557 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Prignano sulla Secchia has 7 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.
The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
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 Prignano sulla Secchia, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.7 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Prignano sulla Secchia is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. 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 Prignano sulla Secchia.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Prignano sulla Secchia: 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 Prignano sulla Secchia 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 78 inhabited census areas in Prignano sulla Secchia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 53 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 4.7%
- fair 86.5%
- good 8.7%
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
- 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 Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- 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 036033. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.