Santa Maria della Versa: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Pavia, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Francesco Crispi 1, Santa Maria della Versa.
Santa Maria della Versa, vineyards and sparkling wine
The valley of the Versa stream is one of the most heavily planted wine areas of the Oltrepò Pavese, the hilly strip of the province of Pavia south of the Po. Santa Maria della Versa is its best-known village, tied for decades to wine and sparkling wine. It sits on the valley floor at about two hundred metres, with vine-covered hills all round and hamlets scattered along the ridges.
Buyers find two different markets. In the village there are older centre homes and post-war blocks of flats, handy for services. On the hills there are farmhouses and rural houses, many with land or a vineyard, some needing complete renovation. There, the access road, the slope of the plot and the state of the walls come first. Jobs outside farming are mostly towards Stradella, Broni and the Pavia area.
Istat, the national statistics office, describes an ageing village: 2,261 residents in 2023, down 8.7% since 2011, with an average age of 48.6 against 47.1 in the province, and over-65s at 28.2%. Foreign residents are 20.9%, a high share for a small municipality. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.
The municipality is in seismic zone 3, like 156 other municipalities in the province, with an expected acceleration of 0.096 g. With an old country house, it is worth having the load-bearing walls and the roof checked.
The clay hills of the Oltrepò call for care on slopes: the report for the address shows the official landslide and flood maps for your plot.
Key points
- Wine village in the Versa valley, Oltrepò Pavese.
- 2,261 residents, down 8.7% since 2011.
- Foreign residents 20.9%, average age 48.6.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.096 g.
Overview
Santa Maria della Versa is a municipality in the province of Pavia, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,261 residents, ranked 54 of 184 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Maria della Versa is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (157 of 184) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.096 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 8.7%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 20.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Maria della Versa declared an average taxable income of 21,713 euros, below the provincial average (26,290 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santa Maria della Versa is in climate zone E, with 2,852 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 199 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Maria della Versa has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 3 healthcare facilities and 2 sports facilities.
There are 1.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).
Public transport
The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Santa Maria della Versa.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 8.8% of the land in Santa Maria della Versa, compared with 9.6% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Santa Maria della Versa is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. 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 Santa Maria della Versa. 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 Santa Maria della Versa: 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 Santa Maria della Versa 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 54 inhabited census areas in Santa Maria della Versa. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 84.0%
- good 16.0%
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.
- Public transport timetables (GTFS): Trenord, Regione Lombardia - Trenord, orari ferroviari (GTFS). Licence CC BY 4.0, version 20261111.
- 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 Lombardia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Lombardia. Licence CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio), updated to 15 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 018143. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.