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Tornolo: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Tornolo

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: Strada Provinciale Sud 1, Tornolo.

Tornolo, the upper Val Taro below the ridge with Liguria

The Taro rises on Monte Penna, in the Apennines on the border between Emilia and Liguria, and drops straight into the upper valley where Tornolo lies. Tornolo is made up of hamlets scattered across the upper valley, including Tarsogno and Santa Maria del Taro, among beech and chestnut woods and mountain meadows. The local centre for services and shopping is Borgo Val di Taro, further down the valley.

Part of the housing is made up of second homes used in summer. Buyers should look at winter access, heating, the roof and the state of the services; in a stone house left closed for a long time, check damp and drains as well. The climate is that of zone F.

Tornolo has lost many residents: 888 in 2023, 19.4% fewer than in 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics institute. The population is very old, with an estimated average age of 55.9 against 45.8 in the province of Parma, and over-65s at 39.4% against 23.4%. Households are small, 1.70 people on average, and foreign residents are 4.3%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

The Civil Protection department places Tornolo in seismic zone 2, which in the province of Parma applies to only 7 of the 44 municipalities; the expected ground acceleration is about 0.179 g. Before renovating a stone house, have the structural side of the work designed too.

The slopes of the Parma Apennines are prone to landslides, and the hazard changes from hamlet to hamlet: the report reads it for the address on the official maps. The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Upper Val Taro, with Tarsogno and Santa Maria del Taro.
  • Over-65s at 39.4%, against 23.4% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2: only 7 municipalities in the province.
  • Landslide hazard to check hamlet by hamlet.

Overview

Tornolo is a municipality in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 888 residents, among the smallest in the province (41 of 44).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Tornolo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 7 of 44 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.179 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Tornolo, 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 19.4%. The estimated average age is 56 years, higher than the province average (46). 39% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 4.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Tornolo declared an average taxable income of 20,039 euros, below the provincial average (28,491 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Tornolo is in climate zone F, with 3,251 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 620 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Tornolo has 2 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 Tornolo, compared with 7.6% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Tornolo is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. 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 no open contaminated sites in Tornolo; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Tornolo: 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 Tornolo 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 32 inhabited census areas in Tornolo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 8.0%
  • fair 92.0%

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

ISTAT code 034040. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.