Sarsina: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. 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: Localita' Ranchio Via Castello 1, Sarsina.
Sarsina, birthplace of Plautus in the Savio valley
Sarsina was the birthplace of Plautus, the Latin comic playwright, and is one of the oldest historic towns in the Romagna Apennines. It lies in the Savio valley upstream of Cesena, on the E45 road linking Romagna with Umbria and Rome. The co-cathedral dedicated to San Vicinio has drawn pilgrims for centuries, and in summer a festival of classical theatre brings many visitors to town.
The municipality includes the main town on the valley floor and many hamlets spread over the surrounding hills and mountains, some of them tiny. Buyers find flats and houses in the centre, handy for services and transport, and country houses or smallholdings to restore on the slopes, where roads are narrow and snow can fall in winter. The E45 makes Cesena reachable in reasonable time, and many residents work there or on the coast.
There were 3,337 residents in 2023, down 7.4% since 2011. The population is elderly, with an average age of 49.2 against 46.8 in the province and over-65s at 30.0% against 25.2%. Foreign residents make up 11.0%, a fair share for a mountain municipality. Average declared incomes are below the provincial average.
All 30 municipalities in Forlì-Cesena province are in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification. In Sarsina the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.203 g, high even for zone 2. For houses on the slopes, the report checks the official landslide maps for the address, and for an isolated house it is also worth looking at retaining walls and drainage.
Key points
- Birthplace of Plautus, in the Savio valley on the E45.
- Residents down 7.4% since 2011.
- Over-65s at 30.0%, average age 49.2.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.203 g.
Overview
Sarsina is a municipality in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 3,337 residents, ranked 20 of 30 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sarsina is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. All 30 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.203 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Sarsina, 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 7.4%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sarsina declared an average taxable income of 21,301 euros, below the provincial average (24,445 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Sarsina is in climate zone E, with 2,303 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 243 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sarsina has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 4 sports facilities 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 3.6% of the land in Sarsina, compared with 7.4% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.8 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Sarsina is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. 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 Sarsina.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Sarsina: 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 Sarsina 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 63 inhabited census areas in Sarsina. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 14.0%
- fair 70.8%
- good 15.2%
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 Emilia-Romagna, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2026.
- 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 040044. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.