Foreign residents in Cento
Cento, in the province of Ferrara, is home to 38 Brazilians — 0.11% of its 35,474 residents. That is the 1469th-highest concentration of Brazilians of any of the 5,872 Italian comuni with at least 1,000 residents, and 74th within Emilia-Romagna.
Across the nationalities we track, Cento counts 135 foreign residents in total, 0.38% of the population. The largest groups are Brazilians (38), Venezuelans (17), Spaniards (15).
Over the period 2019–2025, the number of Brazilians in Cento has risen, from 33 to 38 (+15%).
Separately, ISTAT's census data shows 14.7% of Cento's population was born outside Italy — 12.4% outside the EU and 2.2% elsewhere in the EU. ISTAT does not publish this broken down by specific country at comune level, so it isn't directly comparable to the per-nationality citizenship figures above.
Population over time
By nationality
| Nationality | Citizens | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 38 | 0.11% |
| Venezuela | 17 | 0.05% |
| Spain | 15 | 0.04% |
| Russia | 10 | 0.03% |
| Germany | 9 | 0.03% |
| Greece | 8 | 0.02% |
| United Kingdom | 7 | 0.02% |
| Netherlands | 7 | 0.02% |
| Argentina | 6 | 0.02% |
| France | 6 | 0.02% |
| United States | 3 | 0.01% |
| Japan | 2 | 0.01% |
| Portugal | 2 | 0.01% |
| Sweden | 2 | 0.01% |
| Belgium | 1 | 0.00% |
| Ireland | 1 | 0.00% |
| South Korea | 1 | 0.00% |
| Austria | 0 | 0.00% |
| Australia | 0 | 0.00% |
| Canada | 0 | 0.00% |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Denmark | 0 | 0.00% |
| Finland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Mexico | 0 | 0.00% |
| Norway | 0 | 0.00% |
Country of birth
| Group | Residents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Italy | 30,275 | 85.34% |
| Born elsewhere in the EU | 798 | 2.25% |
| Born outside the EU | 4,401 | 12.41% |
Brazilians over time
Quality of life in Ferrara
Full BES profile for Ferrara →Ferrara on cost vs quality of life (province-level) →
Property prices
About the Ferrara average of €972/m². Averaged across 8 OMI micro-zones, which can differ substantially within the same town.
17.2 years of rent here equal the purchase price — below the national median of 22.2 years.
A ratio between two OMI prices, not a return on investment. It leaves out purchase taxes, IMU, maintenance, financing and the months a place sits empty — all of which push the real figure up. Useful for the question it does answer: whether this town looks expensive to buy relative to what renting in it costs.
Housing here in excellent condition costs 17% more than ordinary condition — €1,192/m² against €1,022.
That gap is what the market charges for a place you don’t have to work on. It is not what the work would cost you — OMI prices property, not builders.
A detached house here averages €1,105/m², against €1,022 for an apartment.
Compared street for street — houses and flats priced in the same neighbourhood — a house costs 12% more per square metre.
OMI prices “Ville e Villini” separately from the apartments every other figure on this page describes. Nationally a house costs about 14% more per square metre, but in 450 comuni it costs less — worth checking rather than assuming.