Cesena: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
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Search for an address in Cesena
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 Cervese 67, Cesena.
Cesena, on the Savio at the foot of the hills
Cesena shares its name with Forlì in the province of Forlì-Cesena, and is its second-largest municipality. It stands where the Savio river leaves the Romagna hills and meets the Via Emilia, below the Rocca Malatestiana fortress, and it is home to the Biblioteca Malatestiana, a fifteenth-century library that has survived intact and is listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World register. The local economy is built on farming, fruit growing and food processing.
At the end of 2023 Cesena had 96,066 residents, the same as in 2011 and 24.5% of the province's population. Among Emilia-Romagna's provincial capitals it has the largest households, at 2.21 people on average, and the lowest share of foreign residents, 9.9%. The estimated average age is 47.5, and 26.1% of residents are over 65, against 24.7% regionally.
Earthquakes are a real consideration here. All 30 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 2, the second-highest of four classes, Cesena included, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.196 g, a medium-high value close to the estimate for Forlì. Buyers should find out whether a building was designed under the 2008 seismic standards or has been strengthened since, and for older houses, how the load-bearing structure is built.
Relative to population, sports facilities (112) are above the provincial average, while supermarkets (37) are less common. Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) are available, and the report derives the sheet and parcel numbers from the address. Between the Savio, the plain and the hills rising south of the city, landslide and flood hazard depends on the precise spot: the report checks it at the address, together with local price ranges.
Key points
- 96,066 residents, the same as in 2011.
- The largest households among Emilia-Romagna's provincial capitals: 2.21 people.
- All 30 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 2; about 0.196 g in Cesena.
- Sports facilities above the provincial rate per head.
Overview
Cesena is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 96,066 residents, the second most populous in the province. 24% of the province's residents live here.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cesena is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. All 30 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.196 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Cesena, 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 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 9.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cesena declared an average taxable income of 26,080 euros, above the provincial average (24,445 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Cesena is in climate zone E, with 2,130 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 44 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cesena has 65 schools and 29 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 37 grocery shops and supermarkets, 75 healthcare facilities, 112 sports facilities and 17 parks and green areas.
There are 0.4 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.5).
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 14.6% of the land in Cesena, compared with 7.4% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 22.4 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Cesena 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 13 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Cesena, and 13 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 Cesena: 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 Cesena 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 1,241 inhabited census areas in Cesena. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 10.2%
- fair 39.9%
- good 40.5%
- very good 9.3%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 040007. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.