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Zocca: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Zocca

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 Mauro Tesi 36, Zocca.

Zocca, chestnut woods and summer retreats in the Modena hills

Zocca is the town where the rock singer Vasco Rossi grew up, and many people know it only for that. In fact it is a municipality in the Modena Apennines at around 750 metres, among chestnut woods, meadows and scattered hamlets, between the Panaro valley and the border with the province of Bologna. Vignola and the plain are half an hour of bends away, Modena and Bologna about an hour.

For decades Zocca has been a summer retreat for families from Modena and Bologna, and some of the houses are lived in only in summer or at weekends. If you plan to live here all year, allow for long, cold winters (climate zone F, with frequent snow) and the daily drive down to the plain. Older stone houses need checking for roof, damp and insulation; those from the 1970s and 1980s for heating, wiring and windows.

There are 4,702 residents (2023), down 3.7% on 2011. The average age is 48.6, well above the province (45.8), and over-65s make up 27.8% against 23.7%. Households are small, 2.01 people on average, and foreign residents account for 15.0%.

In the Modena hills, landslides are the main issue for anyone buying: the clay slopes of the Apennines move, and some roads and houses show the signs. The report checks the official landslide maps for the address, and that is the first thing to read. For earthquakes, Zocca is in zone 3, like 39 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.159 g.

Key points

  • Modena Apennines, a long-standing summer retreat.
  • Over-65s at 27.8%, average age 48.6.
  • Landslides on clay slopes to check for the address.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.159 g.

Overview

Zocca is a municipality in the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 4,702 residents, ranked 30 of 47 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Zocca is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (40 of 47) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.159 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 3.7%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 15.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Zocca declared an average taxable income of 23,205 euros, below the provincial average (27,632 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Zocca is in climate zone F, with 3,240 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 758 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Zocca has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 3 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.

There are 1.1 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).

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 6.0% of the land in Zocca, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.1 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Zocca 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 Zocca.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Zocca: 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 Zocca 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 47 inhabited census areas in Zocca. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.5%
  • fair 65.4%
  • good 33.1%

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

ISTAT code 036047. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.