Sant'Ilario d'Enza: 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.
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Search for an address in Sant'Ilario d'Enza
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 Val D'Enza 1, Sant'Ilario d'Enza.
Sant'Ilario d'Enza, on the Via Emilia at the Parma border
The Enza river marks the border between the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Parma, and Sant'Ilario is the last Reggio municipality on the Via Emilia, the old Roman road across the region, before the bridge. The two cities are at a similar distance, one on each side, which is why many families choose to live here. Besides the main town the municipality includes the village of Calerno, also on the Via Emilia.
Two things matter for commuting: the Via Emilia itself, linking the town with Parma and Reggio, and the station on the railway between the two cities. The layout is typical of the Emilian plain, with the centre along the historic road, districts of houses and flats around it, an industrial and craft area and then farmland. School sites number 1.05 per 1,000 residents, above the provincial average.
The town is growing: 11,379 residents in 2023, up 4.0% on 2011. The estimated average age is 44.8 and over-65s make up 22.3%, both close to the provincial figures. Foreign residents account for 11.7%. Households average 2.40 people and declared incomes are just below the Reggio average.
The province is split on earthquakes: 8 municipalities are in zone 2, towards the Apennines, and the rest in zone 3. Sant'Ilario is in zone 3, but with expected ground acceleration of about 0.144 g, not a negligible value. The 2012 Emilia earthquakes showed how much checks on masonry buildings and industrial sheds matter, so before buying ask for the year of construction and any work carried out.
The Enza is a mountain-fed river that carries a lot of water when in spate. Flood hazard differs between the areas near the river and the rest of the town, and the report checks it for the address after finding the plot on the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.
Key points
- Between Parma and Reggio Emilia, on the Via Emilia and the railway.
- Population up 4.0% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.144 g.
- Near the Enza, flood hazard needs checking.
Overview
Sant'Ilario d'Enza is a municipality in the province of Reggio nell'Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 11,379 residents, ranked 10 of 42 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sant'Ilario d'Enza 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 0.144 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 grown by 4.0%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sant'Ilario d'Enza declared an average taxable income of 26,676 euros, in line with the province (27,273 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Sant'Ilario d'Enza is in climate zone E, with 2,531 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 59 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sant'Ilario d'Enza has 12 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 9 grocery shops and supermarkets, 4 healthcare facilities, 8 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.
There are 0.4 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 20.0% of the land in Sant'Ilario d'Enza, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Sant'Ilario d'Enza 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 Sant'Ilario d'Enza, 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 Sant'Ilario d'Enza: 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 Sant'Ilario d'Enza 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 46 inhabited census areas in Sant'Ilario d'Enza. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 66 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.7%
- fair 30.0%
- good 69.4%
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 035039. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.