Castel San Niccolò: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Arezzo, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Castel San Niccolò
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: Localita' Prato di Strada 1, Castel San Niccolò.
Castel San Niccolò, Casentino below the Pratomagno
The municipality takes its name from the castle of San Niccolò, a medieval fortress overlooking the Solano valley, but its main centre is Strada in Casentino, where the town hall and shops are. This is the Casentino, the upper Arno valley in the province of Arezzo, on the side that climbs towards the Pratomagno ridge. Around it are small hamlets, stone villages and woods of chestnut and beech, and the town hall stands at around 380 metres.
Daily life leans on Poppi and Bibbiena for wider services and on Arezzo for hospital and offices. Buyers find village houses, rustici and stone farmhouses, often with land, and a few flats in Strada. In the higher villages the roads are narrow and snow is possible in winter, so weigh up access, insulation and heating costs, as the climate zone is E. On the slopes and along streams the report checks the official landslide and flood maps for the address.
The population is shrinking and elderly. Istat, the national statistics office, counts 2,454 residents in 2023, 10.4% fewer than in 2011, with an average age of 50.4 and over-65s at 30.3%, above the provincial 26.6%. Foreign residents account for 7.5%. Declared incomes are below the Arezzo average.
In town there are 3 school-related places, 1 pharmacy, 1 supermarket and 10 cafés and restaurants.
The Casentino has medium seismic hazard. Castel San Niccolò is in zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 23 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.171 g. For a stone house, find out whether the roof and floors have been redone, with what materials, and whether any strengthening has been done. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are available.
Key points
- Casentino, on the Pratomagno side; main centre Strada.
- Population down 10.4% since 2011, over-65s at 30.3%.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.171 g.
- Stone villages: check winter access and heating.
Overview
Castel San Niccolò is a municipality in the province of Arezzo, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 2,454 residents, ranked 26 of 36 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Castel San Niccolò is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (24 of 36) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.171 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Castel San Niccolò, 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 10.4%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (48). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 7.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Castel San Niccolò declared an average taxable income of 21,385 euros, below the provincial average (24,383 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Castel San Niccolò is in climate zone E, with 2,170 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 380 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Castel San Niccolò has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 2 healthcare facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.8 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).
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 3.1% of the land in Castel San Niccolò, compared with 5.4% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.7 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Castel San Niccolò is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Castel San Niccolò. 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 Castel San Niccolò: 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 Castel San Niccolò 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 48 inhabited census areas in Castel San Niccolò. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 9.7%
- fair 89.9%
- good 0.3%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Toscana, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 051010. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.