Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Roccantica: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Roccantica

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: Strada Provinciale 48C Spineto 1, Roccantica.

Roccantica, a hilltop village in the Sabine Mountains

The houses of Roccantica climb the side of the Sabine Mountains at around 450 metres, with narrow lanes and flights of steps leading up to the highest part of the village. Below lie the hills of the Sabina, farmed and dotted with country houses. Rieti is the provincial capital, but for work and services many people also look towards Rome, reached by car.

Buying in the old centre means living with steps and leaving the car at the edge of the village. Some find that part of the charm, others a daily limit, especially when carrying shopping or living with elderly relatives. Houses are often on several levels, with small rooms and thick walls. Outside the old village there are newer homes and country houses you can drive up to.

There were 542 residents in 2023, down 10.4% from 605 in 2011. The average age is 50.0 against 48.1 in the province, and over-65s make up 31.4%. Foreign residents account for 6.8%. Declared incomes are close to, if slightly below, the average for the province of Rieti.

The province of Rieti has 13 municipalities in seismic zone 1 and 60 in zone 2. Roccantica is in zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration in the village of about 0.157 g. Village houses are built against each other and have been altered over the centuries, so ask whether the owner or the building's residents have carried out strengthening work and whether the paperwork exists.

Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report goes from the address to the land parcel. On the mountainside, landslide hazard should be checked for the exact plot on the official maps.

Key points

  • Hilltop village on the side of the Sabine Mountains.
  • Old centre full of steps: cars stay at the edge of the village.
  • 542 residents, over-65s at 31.4%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.157 g.

Overview

Roccantica is a municipality in the province of Rieti, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 542 residents, ranked 47 of 73 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Roccantica is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2B. Most municipalities in the province (60 of 73) 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.

For anyone buying in Roccantica, 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 50 years, higher than the province average (48). 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 6.8% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Roccantica declared an average taxable income of 21,544 euros, below the provincial average (22,743 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Roccantica is in climate zone E, with 2,196 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 457 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Roccantica has 1 school and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 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 2.1% of the land in Roccantica, compared with 3.2% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Roccantica.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Roccantica: 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 Roccantica 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 Roccantica. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 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 057061. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.