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Cerda: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cerda

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 Roma 1, Cerda.

Cerda, artichokes and the Targa Florio grandstands

Cerda is known for two things: artichokes, grown on the surrounding hills and celebrated with a festival every spring, and the Targa Florio, the road race that for decades had its grandstands and pits here, at a spot called Floriopoli. The town stands in the hills inland between Termini Imerese and Cefalù, at around 270 metres, with the Tyrrhenian coast in view to the north.

Most homes for sale are in the old centre, often older houses on several levels, with some small detached houses on the edges of town. Prices are low compared with the coast. For work people look to Termini Imerese and, further away, Palermo; the motorway to Palermo runs along the sea below, a short drive downhill.

The population is falling. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 4,866 residents in 2023, down 9.7% on 2011. The average age is 45.7, slightly above the province (44.7), 24.4% are over 65 and households average 2.36 people. Declared incomes are well below the average for the province of Palermo.

Cerda is in seismic zone 2 under the Civil Protection Department classification, like nearly every municipality in the province, and expected ground acceleration in the town is about 0.163 g. In the town's masonry houses, have load-bearing walls, floors and roof checked, and ask whether any strengthening work has been done.

The land is hilly and clay-rich in many places, so landslides on the slopes are a real issue. The report checks slope and mapped hazard areas at the exact address. The climate is mild (climate zone C), and the Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Hills between Termini Imerese and Cefalù, artichoke country.
  • 4,866 residents, down 9.7% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.163 g.
  • Clay slopes: landslide risk to check plot by plot.

Overview

Cerda is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 4,866 residents, ranked 34 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cerda is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (81 of 82) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.163 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cerda, 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 9.7%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 3.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cerda declared an average taxable income of 15,758 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cerda is in climate zone C, with 1,050 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 274 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cerda has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 4 sports facilities.

There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer 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 3.5% of the land in Cerda, compared with 5.7% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 Cerda; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Cerda: 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 Cerda 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 21 inhabited census areas in Cerda. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 73 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 4.8%
  • good 95.2%

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 082028. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.