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Certaldo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Certaldo

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: Viale Giacomo Matteotti 1, Certaldo.

Certaldo, Boccaccio's hilltop and the Valdelsa town

Certaldo comes in two parts. Down below, along the river Elsa and the railway, is the modern town with shops, schools and the station; up on the hill is Certaldo Alto, the medieval brick village where Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the Decameron, lived and died. A funicular links the two. This is the Valdelsa, the part of the metropolitan area of Florence that borders the province of Siena.

Choosing between the two parts makes a big difference to daily life. In the upper village the houses are old, often small, with restrictions on building work and limited car access; below you will find apartment blocks, detached houses and everyday services. In the countryside around, among vineyards and olive groves, there are farmhouses and small estates. For commuting there is the Empoli-Siena railway, with trains to Empoli and connections from there to Florence.

The population is edging down, with 15,604 residents in 2023, 2.1% fewer than in 2011. The average age is 47.8, close to the metropolitan area (47.3); over-65s make up 26.8% and foreign nationals 10.7%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average, which is lifted by Florence.

Certaldo is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, like 28 municipalities in the metropolitan area; another 13, mainly in the Mugello and the Apennines, are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.137 g. In the masonry houses of Certaldo Alto and in country farmhouses, it is worth knowing whether any work has been done on walls, floors and roofs, and with what permits.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report reaches the land parcel from the address. Down near the Elsa the issue is water; on the slopes of the hill and in the surrounding countryside, slope stability. Both are checked for the exact address.

Key points

  • Certaldo Alto, Boccaccio's village, linked to the town by funicular.
  • Station on the Empoli-Siena railway.
  • 15,604 residents, down 2.1% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.137 g.

Overview

Certaldo is a municipality in the province of Firenze, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 15,604 residents, ranked 17 of 41 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Certaldo is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (28 of 41) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.137 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 2.1%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 10.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Certaldo declared an average taxable income of 22,776 euros, below the provincial average (27,023 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Certaldo is in climate zone D, with 1,865 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 67 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Certaldo has 8 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 6 healthcare facilities, 14 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.

There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).

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 7.2% of the land in Certaldo, compared with 7.4% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Certaldo is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Certaldo, and 8 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 Certaldo: 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 Certaldo 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 120 inhabited census areas in Certaldo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 3.4%
  • fair 54.3%
  • good 42.3%

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 048012. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.