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Rolo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Rolo

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 Roma 1, Rolo.

Rolo, the Reggio lowlands on the Modena and Mantua border

Rolo is the last municipality of the province of Reggio Emilia to the north-east, where the Bassa, the low plain, meets the Modena and Mantua areas. It is flat country about twenty metres above sea level, made up of fields, drainage channels and scattered hamlets, with a compact centre and a small industrial area that also employs people from neighbouring villages.

For buyers Rolo offers detached and semi-detached houses with gardens, terraced houses and flats in small blocks, plus a few old farmhouses in the countryside. Carpi, Reggio Emilia and Mantua are the reference towns and are reached by car; average declared incomes are slightly below the provincial average.

In 2023 there were 3,992 residents, almost unchanged since 2011 (down 1.1%, according to Istat, the national statistics office). The average age is 44.6 and over-65s make up 22.6%, in line with the province. The share of foreign residents stands out at 18.3%, largely linked to work in local businesses.

Rolo is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, like 34 municipalities in the province of Reggio Emilia, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.137 g. On the Emilian plain even industrial buildings and brick houses can suffer in an earthquake: before buying, ask for the construction date, any strengthening work and the related permits.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps and the report traces the address back to its plot. On such flat land crossed by channels, water drains slowly and can pool in heavy rain: flood hazard is read from the official maps for the precise point of the house.

Key points

  • The last Reggio municipality towards Modena and Mantua, deep in the lowlands.
  • Foreign residents at 18.3%; population almost unchanged since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.137 g.
  • Plain of channels: check flood hazard for the address.

Overview

Rolo is a municipality in the province of Reggio nell'Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 3,992 residents, ranked 35 of 42 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rolo is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (34 of 42) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.137 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 1.1%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 18.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rolo declared an average taxable income of 25,065 euros, below the provincial average (27,273 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rolo is in climate zone E, with 2,432 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 21 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rolo has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 3 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.3 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 16.9% of the land in Rolo, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.4 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Rolo 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 no contaminated sites in Rolo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Rolo: 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 Rolo 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 37 inhabited census areas in Rolo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 3.6%
  • fair 46.5%
  • good 49.9%

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

ISTAT code 035035. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.