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Zagarolo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Zagarolo

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 Colle Gentile 1, Zagarolo.

Zagarolo, the tuff ridge village on the FL6 line to Rome

Zagarolo's historic centre runs along a narrow, elongated tuff ridge with ravines on either side and Palazzo Rospigliosi at one end. The municipality lies east of Rome, between the Castelli Romani hills and Palestrina, and in recent decades it has grown mainly outside the old village, around the station and in rural areas such as Valle Martella.

The FL6 regional railway, which stops at Zagarolo, is why many Roman families have moved here, looking for bigger homes for less money than in the city. Buyers find flats in the old village, often on several levels with steep stairs, recent apartment blocks near the station and detached houses in the farmland, where services and transport are further away.

Zagarolo is growing: 18,645 residents at the end of 2023, up 10.2% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The population is young, with an estimated average age of 43.3 against 46.0 and over-65s at 18.5%, and foreign nationals make up 13.9%. Declared incomes are well below the average for the province of Rome.

Zagarolo is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, like most municipalities in the province (97 of 121), and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.170 g. Houses in the old village are built of tuff blocks, sometimes above caves and cellars cut into the rock: before buying, ask about the condition of the walls and of any cavities beneath the building.

Along the edges of the ridge and in the ravines, the tuff walls can collapse, and in low-lying areas ditches swell during storms. The report finds the land parcel on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps and checks landslides and flooding at that very spot.

Key points

  • Village on a tuff ridge, FL6 station for Rome.
  • Population up 10.2% since 2011, average age 43.3.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.170 g.
  • Tuff cavities and rock faces need checking.

Overview

Zagarolo is a municipality in the province of Roma, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 18,645 residents, ranked 25 of 121 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Zagarolo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2B. Most municipalities in the province (97 of 121) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.170 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Zagarolo, 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 grown by 10.2%. The estimated average age is 43 years, lower than the province average (46). 19% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 13.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Zagarolo declared an average taxable income of 21,708 euros, below the provincial average (28,682 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Zagarolo is in climate zone D, with 1,893 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 303 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Zagarolo has 11 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 9 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).

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 17.0% of the land in Zagarolo, compared with 13.2% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 Zagarolo; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Zagarolo: 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 Zagarolo 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 61 inhabited census areas in Zagarolo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 6.0%
  • fair 64.7%
  • good 29.3%

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 058114. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.