San Romano in Garfagnana: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Lucca, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in San Romano in Garfagnana
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 Villetta 1, San Romano in Garfagnana.
San Romano in Garfagnana, the Verrucole fortress
The Verrucole fortress, restored and open to visitors, looks down from a hilltop over the Serchio valley in upper Garfagnana. San Romano in Garfagnana is the municipality it belongs to: a group of scattered hamlets among chestnut woods and meadows on the Apennine side, facing the Apuan Alps across the valley.
The Lucca-Aulla railway has a station, Villetta-San Romano, on the valley floor, and Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is the centre for the hospital, schools and shops. Houses are mostly stone-built, in the old cores of the hamlets, with a few newer buildings along the roads. For buyers, winter access, sun exposure and the state of roofs and walls matter, as this is climate zone E.
There are 1,328 residents (2023), 9.0% fewer than in 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 48.9 (48.1 in the province of Lucca), over-65s are 26.2% and foreign residents 3.0%.
Garfagnana is a seismically active area, and San Romano is in zone 2 along with 21 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.203 g. Before buying a stone house, have the walls checked, along with how they are tied to floors and roof.
Between the slopes and the Serchio, the report checks the official landslide and flood maps for the address, the gradient and the parcel on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) maps.
Key points
- Upper Garfagnana hamlets around the Verrucole fortress.
- Villetta-San Romano station on the Lucca-Aulla railway.
- 1,328 residents, down 9.0% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.203 g.
Overview
San Romano in Garfagnana is a municipality in the province of Lucca, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 1,328 residents, ranked 26 of 33 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, San Romano in Garfagnana is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (22 of 33) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.203 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in San Romano in Garfagnana, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 9.0%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 3.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in San Romano in Garfagnana declared an average taxable income of 23,479 euros, below the provincial average (24,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
San Romano in Garfagnana is in climate zone E, with 2,805 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 555 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, San Romano in Garfagnana has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 1 sports facility and 2 parks and green areas.
The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 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 4.0% of the land in San Romano in Garfagnana, compared with 9.2% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
San Romano in Garfagnana is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 San Romano in Garfagnana.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within San Romano in Garfagnana: 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 Romano in Garfagnana 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 17 inhabited census areas in San Romano in Garfagnana. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 27.2%
- fair 72.8%
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 Toscana, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- 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 046027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.