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Cervia: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cervia

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 Pinarella 1, Cervia.

Cervia, salt pans, Milano Marittima and the Romagna coast

Salt gave Cervia its history: the salt pans, still worked today and now part of the Po Delta Park, cover a large area right next to the town. Along the coast the municipality stretches for kilometres, from the pinewood of Milano Marittima, laid out in the early twentieth century as a garden city, down to Pinarella and Tagliata. Ravenna is about twenty kilometres to the north, Cesenatico a little to the south.

Buying here nearly always means choosing between two markets. Milano Marittima has villas and flats among the most expensive in Romagna; Cervia itself, Pinarella and the areas inland are more affordable and have more year-round residents. Many homes near the sea are second homes, empty in winter. The Cervia-Milano Marittima station on the Ravenna to Rimini line and the Adriatic coast road link the town to the rest of the Riviera.

There were 28,964 residents in 2023, almost the same as in 2011 (up 0.2%). The estimated average age is 48.5, against 47.4 for the province of Ravenna, and households are small, 2.01 people on average. In summer the population multiplies: the bars and restaurants recorded come to 15.23 per 1,000 residents, far above the provincial average (6.17).

Cervia is in seismic zone 2, like 17 of the 18 municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.175 g. That is not a negligible value: in blocks built for tourism in the 1960s and 1970s, it is worth asking about the state of the structure.

The other issue is water. The coast is low, only a few metres above the sea, affected by subsidence (the slow sinking of the ground) and storm surges, and the land behind is crossed by canals. The report checks flood hazard and the distance from the sea for the individual address.

Key points

  • Salt pans in the Po Delta Park and a coast running to Tagliata.
  • Cervia-Milano Marittima station on the Ravenna-Rimini line.
  • 28,964 residents, households of 2.01 people on average.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.175 g.

Overview

Cervia is a municipality in the province of Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 28,964 residents, ranked 4 of 18 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cervia is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (17 of 18) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.175 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cervia, 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 49 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cervia declared an average taxable income of 22,775 euros, below the provincial average (25,184 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cervia is in climate zone E, with 2,312 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 3 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cervia has 20 schools and 13 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 17 grocery shops and supermarkets, 16 healthcare facilities, 48 sports facilities and 17 parks and green areas.

There are 0.4 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.3).

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 15.9% of the land in Cervia, compared with 10.5% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 6.5 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Cervia 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 Cervia, and 6 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 Cervia: 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 Cervia 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 141 inhabited census areas in Cervia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • poor 0.0%
  • modest 18.8%
  • fair 62.5%
  • good 18.8%

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 039007. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.