Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Cercola: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cercola

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: Corso Domenico Riccardi 1, Cercola.

Cercola, between eastern Naples and Vesuvius

Cercola starts where the eastern outskirts of Naples end and climbs towards the lower slopes of Vesuvius, close to Pollena Trocchia, Massa di Somma and Volla. It is small in area and very dense: more than half of the land is covered by houses, roads and warehouses, and you barely notice when you leave the city.

For anyone weighing up a purchase, Cercola is part of the Vesuvius red zone, the group of towns that the Civil Protection plan would evacuate ahead of any eruption. Be clear about this, and about the limits the regional law places on new residential building here. The main advantage is how close Naples is; the downside is traffic, scarce parking and little public green space. Many blocks date from the great building boom around the city, so before signing have a surveyor check planning compliance and the state of the structure.

The population has fallen in recent years: 16,877 residents in 2023 according to Istat, the national statistics office, 1,251 fewer than in 2011, a drop of 6.9%. The average age of 43.2 matches the province, households are large (2.70 people on average) and foreign nationals few, at 1.6%. Schools and healthcare facilities are above the provincial rate per resident.

Cercola is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 76 municipalities around Naples, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.170 g. The design date, the structural sign-off (collaudo) and any strengthening work are the first things to ask about. The report finds the land parcel on the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps and checks, for the address, the channels running off Vesuvius, which can carry water and mud after heavy storms.

Key points

  • Eastern outskirts of Naples, on the lower slopes of Vesuvius.
  • Inside the Vesuvius evacuation red zone.
  • 16,877 residents, 1,251 fewer than in 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.170 g.

Overview

Cercola is a municipality in the province of Napoli, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 16,877 residents, ranked 45 of 92 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cercola is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (76 of 92) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.170 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cercola, 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 6.9%. The estimated average age is 43 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 1.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cercola declared an average taxable income of 20,940 euros, in line with the province (21,545 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cercola is in climate zone C, with 1,105 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 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, Cercola has 20 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 14 grocery shops and supermarkets, 11 healthcare facilities, 19 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.8 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

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 55.6% of the land in Cercola, compared with 34.9% in the province and 10.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list no open contaminated sites in Cercola; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Cercola: 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 Cercola 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 40 inhabited census areas in Cercola. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.0%
  • fair 64.0%
  • good 36.0%

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 063026. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.