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Rio: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Rio

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: Localita' Nisporto 1, Rio.

Rio, the east coast of Elba and its old mines

Rio is the municipality covering the eastern part of the island of Elba, created in 2018 by merging Rio Marina and Rio nell'Elba. It runs from the coast, with villages and beaches facing the Piombino channel, to a hilly, wooded interior. The area's history is tied to iron mining, worked since antiquity and now presented in a mining park, and the red earth of the old workings can still be seen along the shore.

Tourism is central to the local economy, and it shapes the property market. Many homes are second homes, lived in during summer, and in winter the villages empty. If you want to live here all year, think about the distance to the main services, which on the island are concentrated in Portoferraio, and about relying on ferries to reach the mainland.

There were 3,384 residents in 2023, 0.6% fewer than in 2011, so a nearly stable population, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is high, 51.0 against 48.7 in the province of Livorno, and over-65s make up 30.6%, above the provincial 28.1%. Foreign nationals are 9.2%. Average incomes are below the provincial average.

On earthquakes, Elba is calm: Rio is in seismic zone 4, the lowest on the Civil Protection Department's scale, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.035 g. In houses near the sea, the useful checks are salt damage to façades and balconies, damp and services.

The report checks the official landslide and flood maps for the exact address. Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency are available.

Key points

  • Eastern Elba, formed by merging Rio Marina and Rio nell'Elba.
  • Many second homes; over-65s at 30.6%.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.035 g.
  • Services in Portoferraio and ferries to the mainland.

Overview

Rio is a municipality in the province of Livorno, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 3,384 residents, ranked 13 of 19 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rio is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (13 of 19) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.035 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (49). 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.2% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rio declared an average taxable income of 22,047 euros, below the provincial average (24,772 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rio is in climate zone C, with 1,236 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 165 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rio has 5 schools. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 6 sports facilities and 5 parks and green areas.

The data shows no pharmacies within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.4 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 7.2% of the land in Rio, compared with 10.2% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Rio is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. 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 Rio. 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 Rio: 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 Rio 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 47 inhabited census areas in Rio. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 51.4%
  • good 48.6%

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 049021. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.