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Ardea: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Ardea

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: Viale Colle Romito 1, Ardea.

Ardea, the Rutulian stronghold and the new districts by the sea

In Virgil's Aeneid, Ardea is the city of Turnus, king of the Rutuli. Its old core still stands on a spur of volcanic tuff, and nearby is the collection of works by the sculptor Giacomo Manzù, who lived and worked here.

The rest of the municipality is a different world: a spread of districts that sprang up in recent decades between the inland area and the sea, such as Tor San Lorenzo, Marina di Ardea, Nuova Florida and Colle Romito. Many began as holiday homes, often before roads were paved or sewers laid, and have become permanent homes for families from Rome and nearby towns.

Ardea is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the province of Rome: 50,292 residents at the end of 2023, up 13.8%, or 6,090 more people than in 2011. The population is young, with over-65s at 19.6% against 22.9% for the province, and foreign residents make up 12.9%. Services have not kept pace: there are 0.22 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents against 0.84 in the province, and 0.34 schools against 0.69.

For buyers, practical checks come first: whether the road is public or run by a residents' consortium, whether the house is on mains drainage, and whether the property is compliant or any amnesty application for unauthorised work (condono) has been fully closed. There is no railway station, so Rome is reached by car or bus, on roads that are slow at rush hour. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Ardea is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection map, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.129 g. Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) are available and the report finds the plot from the address; near the Fosso dell'Incastro and the other streams running to the sea, flooding is checked for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Turnus's city in the Aeneid, now new districts reaching the sea.
  • 50,292 residents, up 13.8% since 2011.
  • Healthcare: 0.22 facilities per 1,000 residents, against 0.84.
  • No railway station: Rome by car or bus.

Overview

Ardea is a municipality in the province of Roma, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 50,292 residents, among the most populous in the province (9 of 121).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Ardea is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2B. Most municipalities in the province (97 of 121) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.129 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Ardea, 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 grown by 13.8%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 20% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 12.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Ardea declared an average taxable income of 21,602 euros, below the provincial average (28,682 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Ardea is in climate zone C, with 1,295 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 37 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Ardea has 17 schools and 9 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 18 grocery shops and supermarkets, 11 healthcare facilities, 31 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).

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 24.1% of the land in Ardea, compared with 13.2% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.9 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Ardea, and one more has 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 Ardea: 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 Ardea 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 154 inhabited census areas in Ardea. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.4%
  • fair 75.6%
  • good 24.0%

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 058117. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.