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Cerchiara di Calabria: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cerchiara di Calabria

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: Contrada Piana di Cerchiara 2, Cerchiara di Calabria.

Cerchiara di Calabria, on the Pollino above the Sibari plain

From the slopes of the Pollino massif, Cerchiara di Calabria looks down on the Sibari plain and the Ionian Sea. The village stands at around 650 metres inside the Pollino National Park, and above it, on a rock face, is the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Armi, a pilgrimage site for the whole area. Pane di Cerchiara, a slowly leavened bread, is what the village is known for outside Calabria.

The old centre is made of stone houses set into the slope, often in need of work, while lower down, towards the plain, there are recent homes and country houses. Buying in the old village means steep streets and narrow access; the lower part is closer to the coast. Declared incomes are below the average for the province of Cosenza.

The fall in population is marked. Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 2,140 residents in 2023, down 13.3% on 2011. The mean age is 48.0, against 46.1 in the province; over-65s make up 28.3% and foreign residents 8.2%.

Cerchiara is in seismic zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.161 g; in the province 65 municipalities are in zone 1 and 85 in zone 2. For a stone house in the centre, ask whether structural work has been done and whether it is documented at the town hall.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps. The report traces the land parcel from the address and reads elevation, slope and the official landslide and flood maps for that spot.

Key points

  • Pollino village overlooking the Sibari plain.
  • Madonna delle Armi sanctuary above the village.
  • Population down 13.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.161 g.

Overview

Cerchiara di Calabria is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 2,140 residents, ranked 68 of 150 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cerchiara di Calabria is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (85 of 150) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.161 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cerchiara di Calabria, 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 13.3%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (46). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 8.2% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cerchiara di Calabria declared an average taxable income of 15,522 euros, below the provincial average (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cerchiara di Calabria is in climate zone E, with 2,101 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 650 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cerchiara di Calabria has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 per 1,000 residents.

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 2.8% of the land in Cerchiara di Calabria, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 11.3 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. 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 Cerchiara di Calabria; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Cerchiara di Calabria: 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 Cerchiara di Calabria 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 41 inhabited census areas in Cerchiara di Calabria. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.5%
  • fair 99.5%

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 078036. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.