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Riva del Po: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Riva del Po

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 Provinciale 1, Riva del Po.

Riva del Po, the villages of Ro and Berra along the riverbank

Riva del Po is a young municipality, created in 2019 by merging Ro and Berra, two farming communities in the lower Ferrara plain that face the river Po, with the Veneto's Polesine on the opposite bank. The land is flat and agricultural, shaped by the main flood embankment and by drainage canals, and the population is spread across a string of hamlets along the roads.

Ro has a reconstruction of a floating mill, one of the boat mills that used to grind grain on the river, the kind described by Riccardo Bacchelli in his novel "The Mill on the Po".

House hunters here mostly find detached and rural houses, often with land, at prices far from those in Ferrara, which remains the place for work, the hospital and secondary schools and is reached by car. Many homes are old and need a careful look, from the roof to the wiring and plumbing.

The population is falling fast. Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 7,425 residents in 2023, 1,083 fewer than in 2011, a drop of 12.7%. It is an elderly community: estimated average age 52.6 against 49.2 for the province of Ferrara, over-65s at 35.4%. Foreign residents make up 11.2%, and average incomes are below the provincial figure.

Nearly the whole province, 20 of its 21 municipalities, is in seismic zone 3 in the classification of the Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile), Riva del Po included, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.072 g. On the soft river sediments of the low plain, foundations matter: for an old house, ask an engineer to look at cracks, settlement and how the structure is tied together.

Water is the main issue, though. Here the Po runs raised above the surrounding fields, held in by its embankments, and much of the land lies below flood level. The report checks the official flood maps for the address; the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so it can also identify the plot.

Key points

  • Created in 2019 from the merger of Ro and Berra, on the Po.
  • Population down 12.7% since 2011; over-65s at 35.4%.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.072 g.
  • The Po runs above the fields: check flood hazard for each address.

Overview

Riva del Po is a municipality in the province of Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 7,425 residents, ranked 13 of 21 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Riva del Po is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (20 of 21) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.072 g, a moderate 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 resident population has fallen by 12.7%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (49). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Riva del Po declared an average taxable income of 20,700 euros, below the provincial average (24,414 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Riva del Po is in climate zone E, with 2,346 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 2 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Riva del Po has 7 schools. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

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 5.4% of the land in Riva del Po, compared with 7.2% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Riva del Po is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Riva del Po. 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 Riva del Po: 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 Riva del Po 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 89 inhabited census areas in Riva del Po. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.0%
  • fair 69.8%
  • good 29.2%

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 038029. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.