Castel San Pietro Terme: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Castel San Pietro Terme
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 Emilia Ponente 45, Castel San Pietro Terme.
Castel San Pietro Terme, on the Via Emilia towards Imola
Castel San Pietro Terme lies on the Via Emilia, between Bologna and Imola but closer to Imola, where the plain meets the first hills. The centre runs along the main street and around the Cassero, a medieval gate tower; just outside town are the spa baths that give the place its name. The Sillaro stream runs through it.
Transport links are good, with a station on the Bologna to Ancona line and a junction on the A14 motorway. The municipality falls into two very different halves. To the north lies the plain, with small industrial estates and farming hamlets; to the south the hills, with scattered houses, farm stays and winding roads. On the clay hills of this part of the Apennines landslides are not rare, so the report looks at gradient and the official maps for each plot.
Istat, the national statistics office, counts 20,694 residents in 2023, up 1.1% since 2011. The population is older than the Bologna average, with an average age of 47.7 against 46.6 and over-65s at 27.4%. Foreign nationals make up 8.9%. Schools and pharmacies are in line with the province; sports facilities (27), green spaces and cafés and restaurants are above average. Incomes are slightly below those of a wealthy province like Bologna.
The earthquake figure needs a careful read. Castel San Pietro is one of 12 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, while the other 43 are in zone 3, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.197 g, fairly high for Emilia. Anyone buying a flat in an old town building or a farmhouse in the hills should ask what structural work has been done and under which design.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the land registry, so the report traces the plot from the address and also checks flood hazard near the Sillaro.
Key points
- On the Via Emilia, with a railway station and an A14 junction.
- Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.197 g.
- 20,694 residents, over-65s at 27.4%.
- Plain to the north, clay hills to the south.
Overview
Castel San Pietro Terme is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 20,694 residents, ranked 7 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Castel San Pietro Terme is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 12 of 55 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.197 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 Pietro Terme, 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 1.1%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 8.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Castel San Pietro Terme declared an average taxable income of 27,806 euros, in line with the province (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Castel San Pietro Terme is in climate zone E, with 2,263 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 75 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Castel San Pietro Terme has 15 schools and 6 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 10 grocery shops and supermarkets, 15 healthcare facilities, 27 sports facilities and 8 parks and green areas.
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 7.8% of the land in Castel San Pietro Terme, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 11.3 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Castel San Pietro Terme is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. 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 Castel San Pietro Terme; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Castel San Pietro Terme: 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 Pietro Terme 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 155 inhabited census areas in Castel San Pietro Terme. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 4.3%
- fair 32.4%
- good 63.4%
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 Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- 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 037020. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.