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Val Rezzo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Val Rezzo

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 Don Felice Sambruna 1, Val Rezzo.

Val Rezzo, a mountain municipality towards the Swiss border

The municipality takes its name from its valley: Val Rezzo covers a small mountain valley above Porlezza and Lake Lugano, towards the border with Switzerland. The houses stand above a thousand metres among meadows, woods and mountain huts, in country where winter snow lingers and the cold of climate zone F lasts a long time.

One figure sets Val Rezzo apart from many mountain villages: its population is relatively young. The estimated average age is 44.8, lower than the 46.3 of the province of Como, and over-65s make up 24.1%, in line with the province. In 2023 Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 166 residents, 13 fewer than the 179 of 2011 (a fall of 7.3%). Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

For buyers the practical question is the road. Shops, schools and doctors are down the valley towards Porlezza and the lake, and every trip means mountain hairpins, with snow and ice in the colder months. Choose a house here with winter access, roof upkeep and heating costs in mind, as at this height heating takes a real share of the household budget. As a summer home it offers cool air and quiet not far from the lake.

On earthquakes the picture is simple. All 147 municipalities in the province of Como are in seismic zone 4 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, and the expected ground acceleration here is about 0.039 g. The things to check are slopes and streams, which the report reads on the official landslide and flood maps for the exact location of the house. Revenue Agency maps are published, and the report finds the cadastral parcel.

Key points

  • Mountain municipality above a thousand metres, above Porlezza and Lake Lugano.
  • Average age 44.8, against 46.3 in the province.
  • 166 residents in 2023, down 7.3% since 2011.
  • All 147 municipalities around Como in seismic zone 4.

Overview

Val Rezzo is a municipality in the province of Como, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 166 residents, among the smallest in the province (146 of 147).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Val Rezzo is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 147 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 7.3%. The estimated average age is 45 years, lower than the province average (46). 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 1.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Val Rezzo declared an average taxable income of 8,436 euros, below the provincial average (26,761 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Val Rezzo is in climate zone F, with 3,552 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,044 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.9 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

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

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 2.1% of the land in Val Rezzo, compared with 12.3% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Val Rezzo 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 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 contaminated sites in Val Rezzo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Val Rezzo: 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 Val Rezzo 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 4 inhabited census areas in Val Rezzo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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 013233. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.