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Solbiate Olona: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Varese, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Solbiate Olona

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 4 Novembre 1, Solbiate Olona.

Solbiate Olona, a river valley and its old textile mills

The Olona valley, between Varese and the Busto Arsizio and Castellanza area, was for more than a century one of the main textile districts in Lombardy, and Solbiate Olona still shows it. The town stands on a terrace above the river, at around 250 metres, with the valley floor taken up by old mills, some abandoned, others converted.

Today it is a densely built residential town, with a share of built-up land that is high even for the Varese area. There are small blocks of flats, detached houses and traditional balcony-access buildings around the courtyards of the old core. Average declared incomes are higher than in the province of Varese. The public transport timetables show no stops in the municipality, so people drive; the A8 motorway to Milan and Malpensa airport is a few minutes away, towards Castellanza and Busto.

At the end of 2023 there were 5,407 residents, down 3.1% since 2011. The average age (46.7) and the share of over-65s (25.0%) are almost identical to the provincial figures, foreign residents make up 4.1% and households have 2.37 members on average.

The whole province of Varese is in seismic zone 4 and here the expected ground acceleration is about 0.039 g, a very low value. In older buildings, insulation and heating and electrics matter more, and on former industrial sites, so do the records of any land clean-up.

The lower part of town, near the Olona, is the area to check for river floods. The report does this for the address and finds the land parcel with the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Olona valley, between Varese and Busto Arsizio.
  • Densely built up, incomes above average.
  • 5,407 residents, foreign residents at 4.1%.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.039 g.

Overview

Solbiate Olona is a municipality in the province of Varese, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 5,407 residents, ranked 42 of 136 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Solbiate Olona is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 136 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.039 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 3.1%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 4.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Solbiate Olona declared an average taxable income of 30,036 euros, above the provincial average (27,186 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Solbiate Olona is in climate zone E, with 2,466 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 247 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Solbiate Olona has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities and 4 sports facilities.

There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

Public transport

The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Solbiate Olona.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 45.0% of the land in Solbiate Olona, compared with 21.1% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Solbiate Olona is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Solbiate Olona, and 4 more have 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 Solbiate Olona: 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 Solbiate Olona 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 24 inhabited census areas in Solbiate Olona. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.1%
  • fair 22.1%
  • good 77.8%

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

ISTAT code 012122. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.