Villa Cortese: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Milano, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Alberto da Giussano 1, Villa Cortese.
Villa Cortese, the Alto Milanese next to Legnano
Legnano is a few kilometres away and Milan about thirty: Villa Cortese belongs to the Alto Milanese, the dry plain between the rivers Ticino and Olona. It is a place of low-rise houses, villas and small businesses, surrounded by similar towns such as San Giorgio su Legnano, Busto Garolfo and Dairago, which together now form an almost continuous built-up area. The share of land already built on is among the highest in the area.
There is no railway station in the municipality. For trains people go to Legnano, on the line to Milan and Gallarate, and many drive to work around Legnano, Busto Arsizio and Malpensa airport, or into Milan.
Unlike many towns in the commuter belt, the population has grown slightly: Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 6,225 residents in 2023, up 1.2% on 2011. It is older than the metropolitan average, though, with an average age of 47.1 against 45.6 and 25.2% over 65. Foreign residents make up 5.4%, a low share for the Milan area. Average incomes are below the provincial level, which is pulled up by the city of Milan itself.
Overture Maps lists 5 school sites, 0.80 per 1,000 residents against 0.58 for the province, and sports facilities are well provided for a town of this size.
Earthquakes are a minor concern here. Villa Cortese is in seismic zone 4, the lowest on the Civil Protection scale, like 73 municipalities in the province; the other 60 are in zone 3. Expected ground acceleration is about 0.039 g. When choosing a villa from the 1970s or 1980s, energy rating, roof, building services and any asbestos roofing that needs removing matter far more.
Key points
- Alto Milanese, a few kilometres from Legnano, no station of its own.
- Population up 1.2% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 4, the lowest, acceleration about 0.039 g.
- 1970s villas: energy rating and roofs come first.
Overview
Villa Cortese is a municipality in the province of Milano, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 6,225 residents, ranked 92 of 133 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Villa Cortese is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (73 of 133) 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 grown by 1.2%. The estimated average age is 47 years, higher than the province average (46). 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 5.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Villa Cortese declared an average taxable income of 27,540 euros, below the provincial average (33,635 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Villa Cortese is in climate zone E, with 2,617 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 190 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Villa Cortese has 5 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities and 6 sports facilities.
There are 0.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).
Public transport
The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Villa Cortese.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 45.0% of the land in Villa Cortese, compared with 32.0% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.3 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Villa Cortese 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 no open contaminated sites in Villa Cortese; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Villa Cortese: 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 Villa Cortese 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 Villa Cortese. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 5.9%
- good 94.1%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Public transport timetables (GTFS): ATM Milano, Comune di Milano - AMAT, orari del trasporto pubblico ATM (GTFS). Licence CC BY 4.0, version 20261029.
- Public transport timetables (GTFS): Trenord, Regione Lombardia - Trenord, orari ferroviari (GTFS). Licence CC BY 4.0, version 20261111.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Lombardia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Lombardia. Licence CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio), updated to 15 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 015248. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.