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Oristano: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Oristano

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 Cagliari 1, Oristano.

Oristano, lagoons, gulf and the legacy of Arborea

Oristano stands on the plain of west-central Sardinia, near the mouth of the Tirso river and the gulf that bears its name. It was the capital of the Giudicato di Arborea, the medieval kingdom of Eleonora d'Arborea, remembered for her law code, the Carta de Logu. Every year at Carnival the town stages the Sartiglia, a very old horseback joust. A few kilometres away, on the Sinis peninsula, lie the ruins of the Phoenician and Roman city of Tharros.

The surrounding land is low-lying and shaped by water: ponds, lagoons, drainage channels and farmland, with the municipality reaching the sea at Torregrande. It is a generous landscape, supporting fishing and farming, but one that calls for care when buying property. On flat ground near rivers and lagoons, flood hazard can differ even between neighbouring streets, and the report checks it for the address, along with distance from the sea and landslide hazard.

The seismic situation is the reverse: all 87 municipalities in the province of Oristano are in seismic zone 4, the class with the lowest hazard. Zone 4 does not mean building without rules, but for a buyer it means attention shifts elsewhere, for example to damp, general upkeep and the condition of services.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for Oristano, so the report identifies the sheet and parcel number from the address, including for farmhouses and rural properties.

Buyers coming from abroad may find the report's documents section useful: it explains which certificates to request from the town hall (Comune) and from the Revenue Agency, and what each one is for.

Key points

  • Former capital of the Giudicato di Arborea, home of the Sartiglia.
  • A plain between lagoons and gulf: flood risk checked per address.
  • All 87 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 4.
  • Cadastral maps available, rural properties included.

Overview

Oristano is the capital of the province of Oristano, in Sardegna. At the end of 2023 it had 30,287 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 20% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Oristano is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 87 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 2.8%. 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 3.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Oristano declared an average taxable income of 24,525 euros, above the provincial average (19,764 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Oristano is in climate zone C, with 1,059 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 9 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Oristano has 27 schools and 10 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 31 grocery shops and supermarkets, 42 healthcare facilities, 43 sports facilities and 5 parks and green areas.

There are 1.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more 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 13.1% of the land in Oristano, compared with 3.4% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 6.0 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Oristano is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Sardegna in 2022. 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 Oristano: 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 Oristano 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 360 inhabited census areas in Oristano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 78 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.0%
  • fair 13.7%
  • good 62.7%
  • very good 22.6%

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 115045. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.