Zola Predosa: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Zola Predosa
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 Risorgimento 1, Zola Predosa.
Zola Predosa, between the Bologna plain and the first hills
Leave Bologna heading west, next to Casalecchio di Reno, and you are in Zola Predosa, which shares a border with the city. The land rises from the plain, where the centre, the residential districts and a large industrial area lie, up to the vineyards of the Colli Bolognesi hills, crossed by the Lavino stream. Many residents work in Bologna or for local firms.
To get into the city there is the Bologna-Vignola suburban railway, with several stops within the municipality, and the Bazzanese road. The report shows how far the nearest stop is for every address. On the plain you mostly find apartment blocks, terraced houses and semi-detached homes; in the hills there are restored farmhouses and villas with land, attractive but more isolated and reached by winding roads.
Zola is growing: 19,369 residents at the end of 2023, up 6.5% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, which means 1,176 more people. The estimated average age, 46.6, matches the province, over-65s account for 24.4% and foreign nationals for 7.5%. Declared incomes are above the average for the province of Bologna, itself one of the highest in Italy.
In the province, 12 municipalities are in seismic zone 2 and 43 in zone 3 of the Civil Protection Department's classification. Zola is in zone 3, but the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area, about 0.163 g, is close to zone 2 values because the Apennines are so near. The Emilia earthquake showed that buildings on the plain need checking too: for a property from the 1960s or 1970s, ask for the structural paperwork and details of any upgrades.
Near the Lavino and the streams coming off the hills, and on the clay slopes, landslides and flooding have to be judged case by case. The report starts from the land parcel on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps and checks the official hazard maps at that exact point.
Key points
- Borders Bologna, on the Bologna-Vignola suburban railway.
- Population up 6.5% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.163 g.
- Plain with an industrial area, vineyard hills behind.
Overview
Zola Predosa is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 19,369 residents, ranked 8 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Zola Predosa is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (43 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.163 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 grown by 6.5%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 7.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Zola Predosa declared an average taxable income of 30,482 euros, in line with the province (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Zola Predosa is in climate zone E, with 2,408 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 74 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Zola Predosa has 10 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 11 healthcare facilities, 15 sports facilities and 6 parks and green areas.
There are 0.5 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).
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 17.4% of the land in Zola Predosa, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Zola Predosa is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Zola Predosa, and 6 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Zola Predosa: 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 Zola Predosa 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 112 inhabited census areas in Zola Predosa. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 4.4%
- fair 71.9%
- good 23.7%
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.
- 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 Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 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 037060. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.