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Zerba: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Zerba

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: Frazione Pey 1, Zerba.

Zerba, the Val Boreca in the Piacenza Apennines

The Val Boreca is a narrow, wooded valley in the Apennines of the Piacenza area, cut by the Boreca stream on its way down to the Trebbia, right up against the border with Liguria. Zerba takes up its upper end, a handful of hamlets scattered across the slopes and linked by long, twisting mountain roads.

The population is old and shrinking. Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 72 residents in 2023, 21.7% fewer than in 2011. The estimated average age is 57.7 against 46.7 in the province of Piacenza, and over-65s make up 45.8%, against 25.3% province-wide. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Buyers will find stone houses with vegetable plots and land, often lived in only during the summer. Distance is what needs weighing most carefully: every service, from groceries to the doctor, means a drive, and winter snow can make the journey longer. The area is in climate zone F, the coldest band in Italy's heating classification, so the roof, insulation and heating will decide what the house costs to live in.

On earthquakes, Zerba is in seismic zone 3, like all 46 municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.101 g. In old masonry houses, have the connections between walls and floors checked.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, and the report finds the land parcel from the address. In a steep Apennine valley like this, landslides and stream floods are the main concern, and the report checks them on the official maps for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Scattered hamlets in the upper Val Boreca, on the border with Liguria.
  • 72 residents in 2023, down 21.7% since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 45.8%, against 25.3% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, like all 46 Piacenza municipalities.

Overview

Zerba is a municipality in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 72 residents, among the smallest in the province (46 of 46).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Zerba is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 46 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.101 g, a moderate 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 21.7%. The estimated average age is 58 years, higher than the province average (47). 46% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 6.9% of the population. On average, a household has 1.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Zerba declared an average taxable income of 19,348 euros, below the provincial average (26,934 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Zerba is in climate zone F, with 3,449 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 775 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 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 2.8% of the land in Zerba, compared with 7.7% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Zerba 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 contaminated sites in Zerba.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Zerba: 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 Zerba 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 7 inhabited census areas in Zerba. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 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 033047. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.