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Cerzeto: 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 Cerzeto

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 Inserte di Gjitonia 1, Cerzeto.

Cerzeto, an Arbëreshë community above the Crati valley

Cerzeto is one of the Arbëreshë villages of the province of Cosenza: communities founded centuries ago by Albanian refugees, which still keep their own language, church rite and traditions. The municipality is made up of several small settlements spread over the eastern side of the Catena Costiera, the coastal range that looks down on the Crati valley. The A2 motorway runs along the valley floor, and Cosenza is reached by heading south.

For a buyer the first thing to understand is the ground. Houses sit on a sloping hillside, often on several levels, with narrow, steep lanes. The report measures elevation and gradient at the address and checks the official landslide hazard maps; these change from one settlement to the next and from street to street, so they need reading for the specific house.

There were 1,217 residents in 2023, down 8.4% since the 2011 census run by Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 47.7, slightly above the provincial 46.1; over-65s are 28.5% and foreign residents 5.9%. Declared incomes are clearly below the provincial average, and property prices should be checked area by area in the report.

Cerzeto is in seismic zone 1 of the national classification managed by the Civil Protection Department, like 64 other municipalities around Cosenza, and the expected ground acceleration in the village is 0.253 g, a high value. Many houses were built or extended in stages, first in stone and later in reinforced concrete, so before buying have a surveyor check the structure and ask to see the building permits and sign-off certificates.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, so the report gets from the address to the building's land parcel.

Key points

  • Arbëreshë community on the slope above the Crati valley.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration 0.253 g.
  • Population down 8.4% since 2011.
  • Sloping sites: landslides and ground to check address by address.

Overview

Cerzeto is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 1,217 residents, ranked 100 of 150 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cerzeto is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Only 65 of 150 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.253 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cerzeto, 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 8.4%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (46). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 5.9% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cerzeto declared an average taxable income of 14,546 euros, below the provincial average (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cerzeto is in climate zone D, with 1,788 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 478 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cerzeto has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 sports facility.

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 3.3% of the land in Cerzeto, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% 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 contaminated sites in Cerzeto.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Cerzeto: 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 Cerzeto 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 14 inhabited census areas in Cerzeto. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 5.9%
  • fair 94.1%

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 078039. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.