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Varsi: 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 Varsi

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 Roma 1, Varsi.

Varsi, a village in the Ceno valley of the Parma Apennines

In the Ceno valley, in the Apennine hills of the province of Parma, Varsi is a low-mountain municipality made up of a main village and many hamlets scattered among woods and meadows. Parma and the plain are far enough away to make daily commuting tiring, and the area lives on farming, small businesses and summer visitors.

Age is the most obvious feature. Over-65s make up 37.7% of residents, against 23.4% across the province, and the estimated average age reaches 54.1, against 45.8. Households are very small, with 1.76 members on average. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 1,131 residents in 2023, down 11.7% on 2011; foreign residents account for 6.5%.

The market mainly offers stone houses in the hamlets and village homes, often needing work. Before deciding, check three things: the access road in winter, the distance to services, which the report measures from the house, and the ground the building stands on. In an Apennine valley landslides are a serious matter, and the official maps should be read for the individual address rather than for the municipality as a whole.

The Civil Protection Department places Varsi in seismic zone 3, like 37 of the 44 municipalities in the province of Parma; the other 7 are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration is about 0.164 g, not a negligible value, so with stone houses ask whether walls and floors have been strengthened.

The land registry is the Revenue Agency's (Agenzia delle Entrate), with maps published. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Key points

  • Mountain municipality in the Ceno valley, with many scattered hamlets.
  • Over-65s at 37.7%, against 23.4% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.164 g.
  • Landslides and winter roads to be checked house by house.

Overview

Varsi is a municipality in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 1,131 residents, ranked 37 of 44 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Varsi is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (37 of 44) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.164 g, a medium-high 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 11.7%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (46). 38% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 6.5% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Varsi declared an average taxable income of 23,059 euros, below the provincial average (28,491 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Varsi is in climate zone E, with 2,984 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 412 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Varsi has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets 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 3.8% of the land in Varsi, 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

Varsi 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 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 Varsi.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Varsi: 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 Varsi 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 52 inhabited census areas in Varsi. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.5%
  • fair 99.5%

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 034046. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.