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Sorano: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Sorano

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 Centro 1, Sorano.

Sorano and Sovana, the tufa towns of inland Maremma

Sorano is a town in inland Maremma, in the tufa country on the south-eastern edge of the province of Grosseto. The old centre is built on a cliff of tufa, the soft volcanic stone of the area, above the valley of the river Lente at around 380 metres, with stone houses that seem to grow out of the rock. The municipality also includes Sovana, a medieval village known for its Etruscan tombs and its vie cave, long sunken lanes cut into the tufa.

People buying here often look for a house in the old town or a farmhouse in the country, frequently as a second home. Old-town houses often have cellars and rooms carved into the rock, damp and cool, which should be assessed by a surveyor together with access, stairs and parking. Larger services are a long way off: for the hospital and secondary schools you drive to the bigger towns of the area.

The figures show an elderly population: a mean age of 53.9 against 49.1 for the province, with over-65s at 37.2%. There were 3,032 residents in 2023, 15.7% fewer than in 2011, and foreign residents make up 7.5%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The municipality is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, like 15 other municipalities in the province of Grosseto, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.140 g. In stone and tufa houses, ask about work done on walls, floors and roofs. For cliffs and slopes, the report shows the official landslide maps for the address, and the Revenue Agency cadastral maps are published.

Key points

  • Town on a tufa cliff, with the hamlet of Sovana.
  • Houses with rock-cut cellars: get a surveyor's view.
  • 3,032 residents, mean age 53.9.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.140 g.

Overview

Sorano is a municipality in the province of Grosseto, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 3,032 residents, ranked 17 of 28 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sorano is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (16 of 28) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.140 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 15.7%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (49). 37% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 7.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sorano declared an average taxable income of 18,060 euros, below the provincial average (22,706 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Sorano is in climate zone E, with 2,204 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 379 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sorano has 5 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility and 2 sports facilities.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 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 2.4% of the land in Sorano, compared with 3.2% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Sorano is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area 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 open contaminated sites in Sorano; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Sorano: 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 Sorano 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 76 inhabited census areas in Sorano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 46.7%
  • good 53.3%

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 053026. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.