Mercato Saraceno: 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.
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Search for an address in Mercato Saraceno
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 Roma 1, Mercato Saraceno.
Mercato Saraceno, in the Savio valley on the E45
The E45 road runs along the floor of the Savio valley and takes you from Mercato Saraceno to Cesena quickly, which is what makes the town a place to live while working in the city. It lies in the middle of the valley in the Romagna Apennines, on the road climbing towards Sarsina, Bagno di Romagna and Tuscany, and its territory spreads over both slopes with many hamlets and scattered houses.
Buyers choose between the main town on the valley floor, with shops, schools and services, and the hills, where there are old farmhouses, smallholdings and houses with plenty of land. Hillside homes offer space and views, but mean daily drives, winter included, and often major work on roofs and walls. The report measures distances from the address to schools, pharmacies and supermarkets.
There were 6,837 residents in 2023, down 2.3% since 2011. Average age (46.4) and the share of over-65s (24.6%) are close to the average for the province of Forlì-Cesena, and foreign residents make up 11.3%. Average declared incomes are slightly below the provincial level.
All 30 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 2 of the national classification, and in Mercato Saraceno the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.198 g, a moderately high value. For stone houses and those built before the 1980s, ask whether any structural work has been done, and budget for it if you renovate.
The Romagna Apennines have fragile slopes, so on sloping ground landslides are the first thing to check; along the Savio, flood hazard matters instead. The report checks both for the address using the official maps.
Key points
- Middle Savio valley, on the E45 towards Cesena.
- The whole province is in seismic zone 2.
- Population down 2.3% since 2011.
- Landslides on the slopes and Savio floods to check.
Overview
Mercato Saraceno is a municipality in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 6,837 residents, ranked 12 of 30 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mercato Saraceno 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 0.198 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Mercato Saraceno, 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 2.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mercato Saraceno declared an average taxable income of 23,012 euros, below the provincial average (24,445 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Mercato Saraceno is in climate zone E, with 2,324 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 134 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mercato Saraceno has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 3 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).
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 5.1% of the land in Mercato Saraceno, compared with 7.4% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 5.3 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Mercato Saraceno 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Mercato Saraceno. 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 Mercato Saraceno: 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 Mercato Saraceno 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 72 inhabited census areas in Mercato Saraceno. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.9%
- fair 74.2%
- good 24.9%
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 040020. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.