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Pacentro: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Pacentro

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 San Marco 1, Pacentro.

Pacentro, the castle on Monte Morrone above Sulmona

From the Sulmona basin you can clearly see the towers of Pacentro's castle, in a village clinging to the slopes of Monte Morrone inside the Majella National Park. The old centre climbs towards the castle through alleys, stone steps and stone houses; lower down, towards the valley, are the more recently built areas.

Sulmona is a few minutes' drive away, with a hospital, schools, a railway station and shops, so Pacentro can work as a place to live for people employed in the valley. In the old centre many houses are on several levels, reached on foot and with little outdoor space; before buying, find out where you can park and what state the roof and walls are in. The climate zone is E, with cold winters. Declared incomes remain below the average for the province of L'Aquila.

In 2023 there were 1,085 residents, down 10.4% on the 2011 census. The average age is 49.3, against 47.5 in the province, and 28.6% of residents are over 65. Foreign nationals make up 4.9%.

Seismic hazard is high, as in almost the whole province: Pacentro is in zone 1 along with 102 other municipalities, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.250 g. For a stone house in the village, ask what structural work has been done, by whom and with what paperwork, and consider a survey before making an offer.

On the slopes of the Morrone the report checks the official landslide maps and measures the gradient of the plot. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so the address leads to the land parcel.

Key points

  • Castle village on Monte Morrone, minutes from Sulmona.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration 0.250 g.
  • Population down 10.4% since 2011.
  • Stone houses on several levels: check access and structure.

Overview

Pacentro is a municipality in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 1,085 residents, ranked 45 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pacentro is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (103 of 108) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.250 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Pacentro, 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 10.4%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (48). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 4.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pacentro declared an average taxable income of 18,384 euros, below the provincial average (22,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Pacentro is in climate zone E, with 2,524 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 690 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pacentro has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 1 sports facility and 2 parks and green areas.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 per 1,000 residents.

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 1.2% of the land in Pacentro, compared with 3.2% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.5 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Pacentro.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Pacentro: 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 Pacentro 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 9 inhabited census areas in Pacentro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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 066066. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.