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Amelia: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Amelia

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 Ortana 1, Amelia.

Amelia, polygonal walls on a hill between the Tiber and the Nera

Amelia's walls are built from huge blocks of stone fitted together without mortar, known as polygonal walls, and they are the emblem of the town. They enclose the old town, which stands on a hilltop in south-western Umbria, between the Tiber and Nera valleys, close to the border with Lazio. Inside the walls the streets climb steeply to the cathedral; outside lies a countryside of olive groves, woods and scattered houses.

The municipality is large and lightly built up, and the market reflects that. In the centre there are flats in old buildings, often without a lift and hard to reach by car. The countryside around Amelia offers farmhouses, rustic buildings to restore and villas with land, which also attract second-home buyers. Commuters will value being close to Orte, with the A1 motorway and the railway to Rome and Florence, and to Terni and Narni.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 11,518 residents in 2023, down 2.2% since 2011. Amelia is home to 5.3% of the province's population. As across the province of Terni, the population is old: estimated average age 48.6, with over-65s at 28.1%. Foreign residents make up 7.6%. Healthcare facilities are sparse, 0.09 per 1,000 residents against 0.63 in the province, while sports facilities are above average.

The province of Terni has municipalities in three seismic zones, as classified by the Civil Protection Department, and Amelia is in zone 2 along with 11 others. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.152 g. For stone buildings in the centre and country farmhouses, ask whether strengthening work has been done and when: after the earthquakes of recent decades, many buildings in Umbria have been reinforced.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report finds the plot from the address. On the slopes of the hill and in the rolling countryside, landslide hazard changes a lot from one piece of land to the next, and the report measures it at the exact location of the house.

Key points

  • Old town enclosed by polygonal walls on a hilltop.
  • Farmhouses and rustic buildings; Orte and the A1 close by.
  • Population down 2.2% since 2011; over-65s at 28.1%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.152 g.

Overview

Amelia is a municipality in the province of Terni, in Umbria. At the end of 2023 it had 11,518 residents, among the most populous in the province (4 of 33).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Amelia is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 12 of 33 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.152 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Amelia, 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 2.2%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 7.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Amelia declared an average taxable income of 22,915 euros, in line with the province (23,539 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Amelia is in climate zone D, with 2,038 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 370 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Amelia has 11 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 9 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 12 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 0.1 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 4.3% of the land in Amelia, compared with 4.7% in the province and 5.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 open contaminated sites in Amelia; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Amelia: 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 Amelia 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 76 inhabited census areas in Amelia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 29.7%
  • good 48.2%
  • very good 22.1%

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 055004. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.