San Giorgio di Piano: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
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Search for an address in San Giorgio di Piano
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 della Liberta' 1, San Giorgio di Piano.
San Giorgio di Piano, on the plain along the Ferrara line
The Bologna to Ferrara railway has a station in San Giorgio di Piano, and for anyone working in Bologna that is a practical advantage: the city centre is a train ride away, with no need to face the ring road. The municipality lies on the plain north of the city, among cereal fields, drainage channels and scattered hamlets, with a compact historic centre and residential districts that have grown around it.
Recent growth shows in the figures. Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 9,503 residents in 2023, up 15.9% on 2011, or 1,302 more people. The average age is 45.1 against 46.6 for the metropolitan area, over-65s are 22.1% and foreign nationals 10.2%. Incomes are in line with the Bologna area.
House hunters will mostly find recent blocks and detached homes, often with good energy ratings, alongside houses in the old centre and farmhouses in the countryside that will need work. Walking distance from the station is one of the things that most affects how practical a home is here, and the report calculates it for every address.
One detail about earthquakes is worth knowing. The Civil Protection Department places San Giorgio di Piano in seismic zone 3, like 43 municipalities in the metropolitan area, but the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.160 g, high for zone 3. For a masonry house or a building put up before the recent codes, ask whether any structural assessment exists.
Channels and ditches cross the plain, so flood risk has to be read at the address rather than as an average for the town. The Revenue Agency publishes cadastral maps here, and the report works down to the plot.
Key points
- Station on the Bologna-Ferrara railway.
- Population up 15.9% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, but high expected acceleration: 0.160 g.
- Drainage channels: check flood risk at each address.
Overview
San Giorgio di Piano is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 9,503 residents, ranked 24 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, San Giorgio di Piano is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (43 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.160 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 resident population has grown by 15.9%. The estimated average age is 45 years, lower than the province average (47). 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 10.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in San Giorgio di Piano declared an average taxable income of 28,874 euros, in line with the province (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
San Giorgio di Piano is in climate zone E, with 2,332 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, San Giorgio di Piano has 5 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 7 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.8 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).
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 13.3% of the land in San Giorgio di Piano, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
San Giorgio di Piano 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in San Giorgio di Piano, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. 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 San Giorgio di Piano: 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 San Giorgio di Piano 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 43 inhabited census areas in San Giorgio di Piano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 1.4%
- fair 67.4%
- good 31.2%
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
- 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 037052. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.