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Orvieto: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Orvieto

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: Corso Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour 1, Orvieto.

Orvieto, the tufa cliff and the town below

Orvieto is really two towns. Up on the tufa cliff above the Paglia valley is the historic centre, with the cathedral, St Patrick's Well and its medieval streets. Down below, along the Florence-Rome railway and the A1 motorway, is Orvieto Scalo, which grew in the twentieth century with modern housing, shops and offices. A funicular links the two, as well as the roads that climb the rock.

Buying on the cliff means old houses, often with cellars cut into the tufa, little parking and demand from outside the area for holiday homes and tourist lets. Orvieto Scalo and outlying villages such as Sferracavallo and Ciconia offer apartment blocks and detached houses, more practical for anyone commuting by train to Rome or Florence.

Orvieto ranks number 2 by population in the province of Terni and is losing people: 19,319 residents at the end of 2023, down 8.3% on 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics office. It is an older town, with an estimated average age of 49.4 and over-65s at 29.8%, and households average 2.13 people. Foreign nationals make up 9.1%. Declared incomes are just above the provincial average.

In the province of Terni, 4 municipalities are in seismic zone 1, towards the Valnerina, and 12 in zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's classification. Orvieto is in zone 3, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.146 g. In the tufa buildings of the old town, what matters is the condition of the masonry, how walls are tied to floors and the work done over the years, so get the paperwork before signing a preliminary contract.

The cliff has undergone long consolidation works against rockfalls, while down below the Paglia and its tributaries have flooded riverside areas in the past. These are two different hazards and both depend on the exact location: the report checks them for the address, starting from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Old town on the cliff, Orvieto Scalo below with rail and A1.
  • Population down 8.3% since 2011, over-65s 29.8%.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.146 g.
  • Cliff consolidated; Paglia river to check in the lower town.

Overview

Orvieto is a municipality in the province of Terni, in Umbria. At the end of 2023 it had 19,319 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Orvieto is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (17 of 33) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.146 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 8.3%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 9.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Orvieto declared an average taxable income of 24,349 euros, in line with the province (23,539 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Orvieto is in climate zone D, with 1,905 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 325 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Orvieto has 18 schools and 7 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 15 grocery shops and supermarkets, 10 healthcare facilities, 20 sports facilities and 10 parks and green areas.

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 4.0% of the land in Orvieto, compared with 4.7% in the province and 5.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 5.0 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Orvieto, 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 Orvieto: 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 Orvieto 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 280 inhabited census areas in Orvieto. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 75 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.2%
  • fair 12.3%
  • good 47.7%
  • very good 26.1%
  • excellent 13.8%

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 055023. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.