Reggio Emilia · Go deeper
Where to live
Reggio Emilia reads from the middle out: the walkable historic centre inside the ring of the old walls, and the calm residential quarters that spread out beyond it. Walkable inside, roomier out; decide which you want more.
The historic centre
Centro Storico
most expensiveThe handsome old heart of Reggio, built around Piazza Prampolini and Piazza San Prospero, with porticoed streets, the cathedral, and the town hall where the Italian flag was born. It's elegant, compact, and entirely walkable, with the best of the city's cafés and food shops. The trade is cost: it's the priciest area, though still gentle by the standards of the wealthy region around it.
Best for: those who want to live in the elegant, walkable heart of the city
Learn more about the historic heart
Reggio Emilia has a claim few cities can match: the Italian flag was born here. On the 7th of January 1797, delegates of the short-lived Cispadane Republic met in a hall of the town hall on Piazza Prampolini and adopted the green, white, and red tricolore as their banner, the first time the flag that now flies over all of Italy was raised. That room is still there, the Sala del Tricolore, with a museum of the flag’s story beside it.
Around that square sits the rest of the compact old centre: the cathedral, the porticoed streets, and the second great square, Piazza San Prospero, with its lion-guarded basilica and lively market. It’s an easy, human-scaled historic core, the kind of place where the whole of daily life happens within a ten-minute walk, and where a quiet Emilian city turns out to hold a founding piece of the nation’s story.
The quarters around the core
Santa Croce & the northern quarters
mid, residentialThe residential districts spreading north and west of the centre, around the station and beyond: a mix of older housing and newer builds, practical and well-connected, at gentler prices than the core. Everyday, unpretentious, and popular with families and workers who want space near the centre.
Best for: those wanting a practical, well-connected home a step out from the centre
Regina Pace & the eastern quarters
mid, residentialCalm, established residential neighbourhoods east of the centre: tree-lined streets, local shops, schools, and small parks. Green and quiet, this is where a lot of settled Reggio families live, a short bus ride or cycle from town.
Best for: families and settled residents wanting a calm, green base near the centre
The outer districts & toward the Mediopadana
lower, valueThe more modern, spread-out districts on the edges of the city, stretching north toward the high-speed Mediopadana station: a mix of housing, newer developments, and light commercial areas. The most affordable places worth looking at, plain but practical, and handy for the fast train and the ring roads. They're workaday, and the charm of the centre is a ride away.
Best for: budget-conscious residents who want value and easy road and high-speed-rail access
Rough rents are indicative and move with the market. Check current listings on Idealista ›