Santa Caterina d'Este: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Padova, Veneto. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Roma 1, Santa Caterina d'Este.
Santa Caterina d'Este, the lower Padua plain
Santa Caterina d'Este is a young municipality, formed by merging Carceri and Vighizzolo d'Este, two villages in the Bassa Padovana (the southern Padua lowlands) south of Este, on the plain spreading south of the Euganean Hills. Carceri is home to the old abbey of Santa Maria delle Carceri, with its cloister and monastery buildings, the main monument of the new municipality.
The land is flat and agricultural: fields, drainage ditches and reclamation channels, farmsteads and houses scattered along the roads. The villages are small, with detached houses, newer homes and a few old farmhouses. For upper secondary schools, the hospital, shops and work, people look to Este, and beyond it Monselice and Padua, all by car. There are 4 schools and 5 bars and restaurants in the municipality.
Istat, the national statistics office, counts 2,330 residents (2023), down 8.1% from the 2,535 who lived in the two merged municipalities in 2011. The average age is 47.3, slightly above the provincial 46.5, and over-65s are 24.2%, the same as the province. Foreign residents make up 3.6%. Average incomes are below those of the province of Padua.
Seismically, Santa Caterina d'Este is in zone 3 under the Civil Protection classification, like most municipalities around Padua, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.067 g, a low value. In older country houses, rising damp, the roof and insulation matter most.
On reclaimed land crossed by channels and ditches, the exact position of the house matters: the report checks the official flood maps at the address. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps cover the municipality.
Key points
- Lower Padua plain south of Este, merging Carceri and Vighizzolo
- The abbey of Santa Maria delle Carceri
- 2,330 residents, down 8.1% since 2011
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.067 g
Overview
Santa Caterina d'Este is a municipality in the province of Padova, in Veneto. At the end of 2023 it had 2,330 residents, ranked 87 of 101 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Caterina d'Este is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (89 of 101) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.067 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 8.1%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Caterina d'Este declared an average taxable income of 21,925 euros, below the provincial average (26,932 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santa Caterina d'Este is in climate zone E, with 2,421 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 10 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Caterina d'Este has 4 schools.
The data shows no pharmacies within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.3 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 8.8% of the land in Santa Caterina d'Este, compared with 18.7% in the province and 11.9% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Santa Caterina d'Este is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Veneto in 2025. 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 open contaminated sites in Santa Caterina d'Este; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santa Caterina d'Este: 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 Santa Caterina d'Este 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 29 inhabited census areas in Santa Caterina d'Este. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 52 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.1%
- fair 99.9%
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 Veneto, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- 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 028108. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.