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Iglesias: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Sulcis Iglesiente, Sardegna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Iglesias

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 Vittorio Veneto 1, Iglesias.

Iglesias, a medieval mining town

Iglesias wears its medieval past openly. Under Pisan rule it was called Villa di Chiesa and was associated with Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, and its historic centre keeps stretches of wall, towers and the cathedral of Santa Chiara. For centuries the town lived off the silver, lead and zinc mines in the surrounding hills; on its stretch of coast at Masua stands Porto Flavia, a mining port carved into a cliff above the sea.

Today Iglesias is joint capital, with Carbonia, of the province of Sulcis Iglesiente. It combines a compact old town, newer districts and a large municipal area that reaches the cliffs and beaches of the west coast. A buyer may be looking at an old house in the centre or an isolated home near the sea, and each calls for different checks.

In an area shaped by mining, it can be worth asking the town hall (Comune) whether the land around a plot or an isolated house is subject to restrictions or clean-up work. The report, for its part, checks landslide and flood hazard, the slope of the ground, the distance from the sea and any parks or protected areas at the exact location.

Earthquakes are no particular concern: all 24 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 4, the lowest in the classification.

The Iglesias cadastre is published by the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), and the report identifies the land parcel from the address. For older houses in the centre, it is worth comparing the cadastral floor plan (planimetria catastale) with the actual layout before completion (rogito).

Key points

  • Medieval centre, once the Pisan town of Villa di Chiesa.
  • Mining history: ask the town hall about restrictions and clean-ups.
  • All 24 municipalities in Sulcis Iglesiente in seismic zone 4.
  • Joint provincial capital with Carbonia.

Overview

Iglesias is the capital of the province of Sulcis Iglesiente, in Sardegna. At the end of 2023 it had 24,908 residents, the second most populous in the province. 21% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Iglesias is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 24 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.050 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 10.0%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 2.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Iglesias declared an average taxable income of 21,755 euros, above the provincial average (19,085 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Iglesias is in climate zone C, with 916 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 176 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Iglesias has 27 schools and 8 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 17 grocery shops and supermarkets, 23 healthcare facilities, 30 sports facilities and 5 parks and green areas.

There are 0.9 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more 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 4.3% of the land in Iglesias, compared with 3.4% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.1 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Iglesias is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Sardegna in 2022. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Iglesias: 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 Iglesias 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 222 inhabited census areas in Iglesias. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 85 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.1%
  • fair 9.4%
  • good 18.9%
  • very good 49.4%
  • excellent 22.3%

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 119009. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.