Sant'Elpidio a Mare: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Fermo, Marche. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Sant'Elpidio a Mare
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 Faleriense 12, Sant'Elpidio a Mare.
Sant'Elpidio a Mare, hilltop town in the footwear district
Despite its name, the old town of Sant'Elpidio a Mare sits on a hill a few kilometres from the coast, at around 250 metres. The sea and the beach belong to Porto Sant'Elpidio, a separate municipality. From the hilltop the land drops into the valleys, where villages such as Casette d'Ete and Cascinare grew up around the shoe factories: the town is one of the centres of the Fermo footwear district, and the Tod's group has its headquarters at Casette d'Ete.
Buyers choose between two ways of living. The old town has historic houses and flats in stone and brick buildings, with steep streets and limited parking. The valley villages offer detached houses, small blocks and often homes built next to a family workshop, closer to everyday services and within driving distance of the coast. Recorded services are thinner than the provincial average: there are 0.24 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, for example, against 0.43 across the province.
The municipality has 16,469 residents (2023), down 2.9% since 2011, and holds 9.8% of the province of Fermo's population. The estimated average age is 46.9 against 47.6; over-65s are 25.5% and foreign residents 9.8%. Households average 2.44 people.
All 40 municipalities around Fermo are in seismic zone 2 of the national classification, and the 2016 earthquakes in central Italy were a reminder of what that means. In Sant'Elpidio the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.183 g. For masonry houses in the old town and blocks from the 1960s and 1970s, ask for surveys and records of the work carried out.
The hills of the Marche are often clay: on the slopes the report checks gradient and landslide hazard, in the valleys flood hazard, always for the individual address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the land registry maps.
Key points
- Hilltop old town and footwear-district villages in the valleys.
- Seismic zone 2, like all 40 municipalities in the province.
- 16,469 residents, 9.8% of the province.
- 0.24 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, against 0.43.
Overview
Sant'Elpidio a Mare is a municipality in the province of Fermo, in Marche. At the end of 2023 it had 16,469 residents, the third most populous in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sant'Elpidio a Mare is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. All 40 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.183 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Sant'Elpidio a Mare, 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 2.9%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sant'Elpidio a Mare declared an average taxable income of 20,999 euros, in line with the province (21,786 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Sant'Elpidio a Mare is in climate zone D, with 1,875 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 251 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sant'Elpidio a Mare has 11 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 12 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).
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 11.4% of the land in Sant'Elpidio a Mare, compared with 7.9% in the province and 7.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.5 hectares.
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 7 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Sant'Elpidio a Mare, 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 Sant'Elpidio a Mare: 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 Sant'Elpidio a Mare 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 81 inhabited census areas in Sant'Elpidio a Mare. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.3%
- fair 86.6%
- good 13.0%
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
- 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.
- 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 109037. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.