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Castell'Arquato: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Castell'Arquato

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 Sforza Caolzio 1, Castell'Arquato.

Castell'Arquato, the medieval village above the Arda

Castell'Arquato is the medieval village of the Arda valley. It climbs from the stream to the square at the top of the hill, where you find the Visconti fortress, the collegiate church and the old Palazzo del Podestà. Vineyards cover the surrounding Piacenza hills, and at weekends plenty of visitors come over from Piacenza, Parma and Milan.

Buying here means choosing between two kinds of home. In the old village the buildings are historic and often protected, with steep stairs, thick walls and little parking; any work goes through the permits required for historic centres and takes longer. Lower down, along the valley road, there are newer, more practical detached houses and small blocks of flats. Outside the village, among the vines, you find farmhouses and isolated houses. Declared incomes are a little above the provincial average.

According to Istat, the national statistics office, the municipality had 4,664 residents in 2023, down 1.0% since 2011, so the population is broadly steady. It is an older population, though, with an average age of 48.6 against 46.7 in the province and over-65s at 27.6%. Foreign residents make up 8.8%.

Castell'Arquato is in seismic zone 3, like every municipality in the province of Piacenza, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.133 g. In historic stone and brick buildings, ask what structural work has been done and when. The clay hills of the valley and the banks of the Arda are where landslides and flooding need checking, and the report does this for the specific address.

Key points

  • Medieval village in the Arda valley, among Piacenza's vineyards.
  • 4,664 residents, down 1.0% since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 27.6%, average age 48.6.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.133 g.

Overview

Castell'Arquato is a municipality in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 4,664 residents, ranked 18 of 46 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Castell'Arquato is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 46 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.133 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 1.0%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 8.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Castell'Arquato declared an average taxable income of 27,909 euros, in line with the province (26,934 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Castell'Arquato is in climate zone E, with 2,750 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 224 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Castell'Arquato has 5 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities and 1 sports facility.

There are 0.6 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).

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 7.7% of the land in Castell'Arquato, compared with 7.7% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land shrank by 9.9 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Castell'Arquato 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 contaminated sites in Castell'Arquato.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Castell'Arquato: 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 Castell'Arquato 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 70 inhabited census areas in Castell'Arquato. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 47.8%
  • good 52.2%

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 033012. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.