Santa Sofia d'Epiro: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Santa Sofia d'Epiro
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 Moroiti 1, Santa Sofia d'Epiro.
Santa Sofia d'Epiro, an Arbëreshë village in the Cosenza hills
The name recalls Epirus, the Balkan region the Albanians who founded the village came from centuries ago. Santa Sofia d'Epiro is one of the Arbëreshë communities of the province of Cosenza, where the language and the Byzantine rite in church services are still part of village life. It stands at around 560 metres, in the hills overlooking the Crati valley, with Cosenza and the university at Rende within driving distance.
Homes are mainly masonry buildings in the centre, on two or three floors, and more recent houses on the edge of the village. Expect to budget for work on roofs, services and windows. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.
The fall in population is steep: Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 2,132 in 2023, down 22.4% on 2011. The mean age is 48.7, against 46.1 in the province; over-65s make up 27.6% and foreign residents 3.3%.
Santa Sofia is in seismic zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.272 g, a high value. For a masonry building, ask for a check of walls and floors and make sure any extensions were properly permitted.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps. The report starts from the address, identifies the land parcel and reads slope and the official landslide and flood maps for that spot.
Key points
- Arbëreshë community in the hills of the Crati valley.
- Population down 22.4% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.272 g.
- Masonry houses in the centre, often needing work.
Overview
Santa Sofia d'Epiro is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 2,132 residents, ranked 70 of 150 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Sofia d'Epiro is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (85 of 150) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.272 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Santa Sofia d'Epiro, 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 22.4%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Sofia d'Epiro declared an average taxable income of 14,747 euros, below the provincial average (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santa Sofia d'Epiro is in climate zone D, with 1,935 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 558 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Sofia d'Epiro has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets and 1 green area.
The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 3.8% of the land in Santa Sofia d'Epiro, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Official databases list no contaminated sites in Santa Sofia d'Epiro.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santa Sofia d'Epiro: 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 Sofia d'Epiro 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 19 inhabited census areas in Santa Sofia d'Epiro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 51 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 10.9%
- fair 89.1%
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 078133. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.