Santa Maria di Sala: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Venezia, Veneto. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Santa Maria di Sala
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 Noalese 1, Santa Maria di Sala.
Santa Maria di Sala, farmland between Padua and Mestre
Santa Maria di Sala lies between Padua and Mestre, in the part of the province of Venice known as the Miranese, on a plain barely above sea level. This is reclaimed Venetian farmland: fields, drainage ditches, scattered workshops and villages strung out along the roads. The best-known landmark is Villa Farsetti, a large eighteenth-century Venetian villa.
Location is the main reason people settle here, with Padua on one side and Mestre and Venice on the other, all within a reasonable drive. The housing stock is mostly detached houses, terraced homes and small blocks rather than large apartment buildings. Shops and services are thinner on the ground than the provincial average: there are 46 cafés and restaurants and 4 supermarkets, and for many errands people drive to Mirano or larger towns.
Compared with the rest of the province, the population is young. Average age is 44.9 against 47.6, and over-65s are 19.6% of residents, well below the provincial 26.0%, a figure pushed up by Venice itself. According to Istat, the national statistics office, there were 17,386 residents in 2023, up 0.5% since 2011, with 2.44 people per household on average. Foreign nationals are 6.9% of residents, and incomes are in line with the province.
All 44 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department's scale; here expected ground acceleration is about 0.101 g. On such a low plain, criss-crossed by drainage channels, water is the thing to watch. If a house has a basement or a taverna (a semi-underground living room), ask the seller whether it has ever flooded. The report checks the official flood maps for the address and finds the land parcel on the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.
Key points
- Miranese farmland, between Padua and Mestre.
- Over-65s at 19.6%, against 26.0% in the province.
- 17,386 residents in 2023, up 0.5% since 2011.
- Low plain with canals: check basements for past flooding.
Overview
Santa Maria di Sala is a municipality in the province of Venezia, in Veneto. At the end of 2023 it had 17,386 residents, ranked 12 of 44 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Maria di Sala is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 44 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.101 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 45 years, lower than the province average (48). 20% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 6.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Maria di Sala declared an average taxable income of 25,327 euros, in line with the province (25,574 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santa Maria di Sala is in climate zone E, with 2,467 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 13 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Maria di Sala has 12 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 6 healthcare facilities and 9 sports facilities.
There are 0.2 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.5).
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 23.5% of the land in Santa Maria di Sala, compared with 14.1% in the province and 11.9% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.7 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Santa Maria di Sala 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Santa Maria di Sala, and one more has 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 Santa Maria di Sala: 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 Maria di Sala 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 Santa Maria di Sala. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.1%
- fair 70.7%
- good 29.2%
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 027035. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.