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Cortona: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cortona

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: Case Sparse Burcinella - Fratta 1, Cortona.

Cortona, the Etruscan hill town above the Valdichiana

Cortona clings to a hillside at almost five hundred metres, looking out over the Valdichiana valley and, to the south-east, Lake Trasimeno. Its Etruscan walls, steep lanes and stone churches make it one of the most visited places in the province of Arezzo, and for decades it has drawn foreign buyers too.

The municipality is far larger than the old town. Down on the plain, Camucia is the shopping hub, with Camucia-Cortona station; Terontola, further south, is the rail junction for the line to Perugia. Between hill and valley there are scattered farmhouses and smallholdings. Buying in the old town means climbs, distant parking and old houses; in Camucia you find apartment blocks, shops and transport; in the countryside, space and quiet, with every journey made by car.

The population is shrinking. Istat, the national statistics office, counts 20,997 residents in 2023, 6.7% fewer than in 2011. It is also older than the province, with an average age of 49.0 against 47.6 and over-65s at 29.2%. Foreign residents make up 9.4%. With 148 cafés and restaurants, 7.05 per 1,000 residents, tourism shows up in the figures, and schools are more densely spread than in the rest of the province.

Cortona is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 23 other municipalities around Arezzo, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.155 g. For a stone house in town or a restored farmhouse, the key question is whether the work covered only the finishes or the structure as well, which strengthening was done and which permit was filed with the council.

On the slopes the report checks gradient and landslide hazard, and on the plain flooding along the Chiana drainage channels. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps cover the whole municipality and lead from the address to the plot.

Key points

  • Etruscan hill town, with Camucia and Terontola on the plain.
  • Average age 49.0, over-65s at 29.2%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.155 g.
  • 7.05 cafés and restaurants per 1,000 residents.

Overview

Cortona is a municipality in the province of Arezzo, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 20,997 residents, the third most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cortona is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (24 of 36) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.155 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cortona, 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 6.7%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cortona declared an average taxable income of 22,780 euros, below the provincial average (24,383 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cortona is in climate zone E, with 2,282 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 494 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cortona has 27 schools and 7 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 13 grocery shops and supermarkets, 14 healthcare facilities, 21 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 1.3 schools per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (1.0).

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 4.7% of the land in Cortona, compared with 5.4% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 8.2 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Cortona 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 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Cortona, and 4 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 Cortona: 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 Cortona 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 238 inhabited census areas in Cortona. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.2%
  • fair 56.9%
  • good 35.6%
  • very good 7.4%

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 051017. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.