Pieve di Cento: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Pieve di Cento
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 Cremona 1, Pieve di Cento.
Pieve di Cento, arcaded streets on the banks of the Reno
The river Reno is the boundary here. On one bank is Pieve di Cento, in the province of Bologna; on the other is Cento, in the province of Ferrara, and the two towns face each other a few hundred metres apart. Pieve is a plain town, less than twenty metres above sea level, with a compact historic centre closed by old town gates and lined with porticoes, which is why locals call it "little Bologna".
Buyers choose between flats and terraced houses in the centre, often with old walls and inner courtyards, and the detached homes in the districts that grew up around it. Bologna is a little over half an hour by car, and many residents work for businesses on the plain around Cento and San Pietro in Casale. With the Reno and the drainage canals close by, it is worth checking flood risk for the specific address.
The town has grown in recent years. At the end of 2023 it had 7,326 residents, 6.3% more than in 2011, or 431 people, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The estimated average age is 46.4, close to the provincial figure, over-65s make up 26.5% and foreign residents 9.3%. Households have 2.25 members on average.
The Emilian plain is not free of earthquakes. Pieve di Cento is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection scale, like 42 other municipalities around Bologna, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.157 g. For a brick house in the old centre, ask what structural work has been done and see the paperwork, especially for roofs, floors and the ties between walls.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so the report goes from the address to the land parcel. Price bands and hazards are read there, house by house.
Key points
- Plain town on the Reno, facing Cento, with an arcaded old centre.
- Population up 6.3% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.157 g.
- Close to the Reno and canals: check flood risk at the address.
Overview
Pieve di Cento is a municipality in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 7,326 residents, ranked 30 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pieve di Cento is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (43 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.157 g, a medium-high 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 grown by 6.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 9.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pieve di Cento declared an average taxable income of 26,080 euros, below the provincial average (29,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Pieve di Cento is in climate zone E, with 2,182 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 18 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pieve di Cento has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).
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 12.3% of the land in Pieve di Cento, compared with 9.0% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Pieve di Cento 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Pieve di Cento, and 2 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 Pieve di Cento: 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 Pieve di Cento 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 30 inhabited census areas in Pieve di Cento. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 62 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 4.8%
- fair 48.7%
- good 46.5%
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 037048. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.