Historical cadastral survey in Italy: what it contains and when it is really needed

20/10/2025   Category:  Land Registry and Property Records

When it comes to information about real estate in Italy, many people are familiar with the traditional cadastral survey. Less well known, but in some cases decisive, is the historical cadastral visura, a document that allows us to reconstruct the evolution of a property over time. In this article we look at what it contains, how it differs from the ordinary cadastral survey, and when it is necessary to request it.

What is the historical cadastral view

The historical cadastral view is a document issued by the Internal Revenue Service that shows all the changes recorded over time on a given property, starting from the first census to the current situation.

Unlike the "simple" visura, which shows only the data updated today, the historical visura allows you to trace the cadastral history of the property.

What a historical cadastral survey contains

1. Property identification data

• Sheet, particle (mappale), subdivision
• Cadastral category (e.g., A/2, C/1, etc.)
• Class, consistency and cadastral income, with any changes over time

2. Transformations and changes

• Changes of category (e.g., from warehouse to dwelling)
• Mergers or divisions of housing units
• Changes in floor area and consistency
• Plan updates

3. Owner history

• Succession of various owners over time
• Ownership shares and type of right (full ownership, usufruct, bare ownership...)
• Start and termination dates of rights

4. Land registry entries, if any

• Corrections
• Ex officio changes
• Insertions and deletions of subalterns

Historical cadastral visura vs simple cadastral visura

The simple view shows only the current situation of the property (category, annuity, current owner), while the historical view shows all changes and transitions that have occurred over time, including previous owners, mergers/divisions, and cadastral changes.

When to use a historical cadastral view

1. Checking the provenance and history of the property

Ideal before a purchase to analyze suspicious mergers/divisions, expansions or changes in ownership or irregularities.

2. Verification of cadastral changes over time

Required for checks on historical floor plans, verification of correspondence between actual and cadastral status, and reconstruction of suppressed or changed units.

3. Successions, hereditary divisions, donations

Helps clarify the various succeeding owners and shares/directories of rights over time.

4. Building and zoning practices.

Often required by technicians to submit SCIAs, CILAs, amnesties or to reconstruct building-historical compliance.

5. Litigation and legal verification

Useful in cases of boundary disputes, inheritance disputes or reconstruction of prior ownership.

When the simple cadastral survey is sufficient

The simple cadastral view is sufficient when only the current status is needed, e.g., for calculating IMU or other taxes, for tax returns, for standard real estate sales without complexity, or to verify the current owner's income and data.

Conclusions

The historical cadastral view is an indispensable tool when a complete and detailed view of the changes a property has undergone over time is needed. The simple view is designed for immediate, everyday use; the historical view, on the other hand, is the right choice for complex purchases and sales, successions, technical verifications, and litigation.