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Acri: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Acri

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: Contrada San Giacomo 1, Acri.

Acri, a hill town on the edge of the Sila Greca

Reaching Acri from the Crati valley means climbing a series of hairpin bends to around seven hundred metres. The town sits in the hills of the Sila Greca, north-east of Cosenza, and its municipal area is very large, spreading from the built-up centre over farmed hillsides, scattered rural districts and the woods of the Sila plateau. The poet Vincenzo Padula was born here, as was the Capuchin friar Saint Angelo of Acri, venerated throughout the province.

Buying in Acri means dealing with slopes. The old centre is made of stone houses built against the hillside, often on several levels, with access on foot and little parking, while newer areas have stretched out along the approach roads. Depopulation has left many homes empty, and a good share of the properties for sale need renovation. Landslides are a real issue across inland Calabria, so the report compares each address with the official hazard maps and measures the slope of the ground. Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) are published for the outlying districts too.

The figures confirm the decline. At the end of 2023 there were 18,548 residents according to Istat, the national statistics office, down 13.6% since 2011, or 2,910 fewer people. Acri is still one of the larger of the 150 municipalities in the province of Cosenza. The estimated average age is 48.0, against 46.1 in the province, over-65s are 27.7% and foreign nationals are few, at 3.2%. Declared incomes are below a provincial average that is already low.

Earthquake hazard is high. In the province 65 municipalities are in zone 1, the most exposed band of the scale set by the Civil Protection Department, and 85, including Acri, are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.274 g, a high value even for this zone. Before buying an old masonry house, ask whether it has had seismic improvement work and what state the load-bearing walls, floors and roof are in. For a reinforced concrete building, the year of the structural design shows which rules it was calculated under.

Key points

  • Hill town with scattered rural districts, on the edge of the Sila Greca.
  • Residents down 13.6% since 2011, many homes needing work.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.274 g.
  • Slopes and landslides checked plot by plot.

Overview

Acri is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 18,548 residents, among the most populous in the province (6 of 150).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Acri is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (85 of 150) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.274 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Acri, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 13.6%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (46). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Acri declared an average taxable income of 17,559 euros, in line with the province (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Acri is in climate zone E, with 2,256 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 720 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Acri has 28 schools and 6 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 19 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities, 9 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).

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 4.2% of the land in Acri, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.2 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 Acri.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Acri: 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 Acri 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 122 inhabited census areas in Acri. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 3.2%
  • fair 96.8%

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 078003. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.