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Cattolica: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cattolica

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 Romagna 1, Cattolica.

Cattolica, the last Romagna beach before the Marche

Cattolica has the final stretch of Romagna's beach before the Marche region begins. The Tavollo stream marks the boundary with Gabicce Mare, and the Marche hills start right behind it. The town is flat, compact and built up almost everywhere: hotels, guesthouses, blocks of flats and small villas reach down to the seafront, and more than half of the land is covered by buildings and roads. The Bologna to Ancona railway stops here and the A14 motorway has a junction.

Buying in Cattolica means living with tourism. In summer the town fills up, shops and bars work flat out (Overture Maps counts 222 places to eat and drink) and many flats near the sea are second homes or seasonal lets. In winter it runs at the pace of a small town. People looking for a year-round home usually look inland of the railway, where it is more residential; investors look at the walking distance to the beach, which the report measures from the address.

In 2023 there were 16,579 residents, almost the same as in 2011 (up 0.2%). The population is older than the province of Rimini: estimated average age 48.4 against 46.6, over-65s at 26.7% against 24.4%. Households are small, 2.09 people on average, and foreign residents make up 10.6%.

All 27 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 2 of the national classification, and in Cattolica the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.184 g. Many coastal blocks predate current earthquake standards, so for a flat ask for the design date and whether any structural work has been done.

Near the mouth of the Tavollo, along the Ventena and in the lowest streets, flooding and storm surges need checking, and the report does this on the official maps for the address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the land registry maps.

Key points

  • Seaside town on the Marche border, with a station and A14 junction.
  • Average age 48.4, above the province (46.6).
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.184 g.
  • Near the sea and river mouths: check flooding by address.

Overview

Cattolica is a municipality in the province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 16,579 residents, ranked 5 of 27 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cattolica is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. All 27 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.184 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cattolica, 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (47). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 10.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cattolica declared an average taxable income of 22,220 euros, in line with the province (22,480 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cattolica is in climate zone E, with 2,165 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 12 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cattolica has 9 schools and 6 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 19 grocery shops and supermarkets, 16 healthcare facilities, 37 sports facilities and 6 parks and green areas.

There are 1.1 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).

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 62.6% of the land in Cattolica, compared with 12.6% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 4.2 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Cattolica 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Cattolica, and 2 more have 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 Cattolica: 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 Cattolica 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 51 inhabited census areas in Cattolica. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 4.9%
  • good 68.8%
  • very good 26.3%

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

ISTAT code 099002. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.