The Emilia Romagna earthquake of the 20th of May 2012 has damaged some of the historic centres closer to the epicentre of this event. Aftershocks and a second earthquake on the 29th of May 2012 registered in the same region have caused around 30 dead people, 350 of injured people and several damage types to historic assets. In this paper the typical features of the residential constructions in the areas damaged by these earthquakes are introduced and the seismic vulnerability of the Comune of Cento is carried out by using the FaMIVE approach. The same area has also been surveyed by the Italian Civil Protection to assess the safety of the buildings with the aid of AeDES form. The damage scenario observed on site, the safety judgements conducted by AeDES and the forecasted vulnerability obtained by FaMIVE will be illustrated for some building clusters selected in the Comune of Centro.