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Bitonto: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Bari, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Bitonto

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 Ammiraglio Vacca 1, Bitonto.

Bitonto, the Romanesque cathedral and the olive groves west of Bari

Olive groves cover much of Bitonto's territory, which climbs from the edge of Bari towards the Murgia uplands, and olive oil has always been its living. At the heart of the old town is the cathedral, one of the best-known examples of Apulian Romanesque, surrounded by Renaissance palazzi and a stretch of the walls. Besides the town itself the municipality includes two farming villages, Palombaio and Mariotto.

Between Bitonto and Bari lies Lama Balice, a regional park following a long karst gully down to the sea. The handiest link with Bari is the Bari-Nord railway run by Ferrotramviaria, which crosses the town and also stops at Bari airport. Buyers in the historic centre will find stone houses, often in need of work, on streets where parking is hard; the newer districts offer flats and small villas with more room.

The population is falling: 53,103 residents at the end of 2023, down 5.6% on 2011, or 3,155 people. It is younger than the province, though, with an average age of 44.4 against 45.8, and foreign residents are very few at 1.8%. Declared incomes are below the average for the province of Bari.

Bitonto is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection map, like 33 other municipalities around Bari, and expected ground acceleration is about 0.087 g, a low value. In the old houses of the centre the most common problem is rising damp in the stone walls, along with the state of the roofs, so those are the items to have a surveyor check.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps and the report finds the plot from the address. The lame, Lama Balice included, fill with water in heavy rain, so anyone buying near one of these gullies should check the flood hazard maps in the report.

Key points

  • Olive groves, Romanesque cathedral and the Bari-Nord train to Bari and the airport.
  • Average age 44.4, younger than the province (45.8).
  • 53,103 residents, down 5.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.087 g.

Overview

Bitonto is a municipality in the province of Bari, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 53,103 residents, among the most populous in the province (4 of 41).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bitonto is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (34 of 41) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.087 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 resident population has fallen by 5.6%. The estimated average age is 44 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 1.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bitonto declared an average taxable income of 20,179 euros, below the provincial average (21,788 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bitonto is in climate zone C, with 1,350 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 118 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bitonto has 40 schools and 17 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 25 grocery shops and supermarkets, 24 healthcare facilities, 42 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 0.5 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).

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 8.0% of the land in Bitonto, compared with 9.7% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 5.5 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Bitonto is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Puglia in 2025. 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 Bitonto.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bitonto: 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 Bitonto 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 388 inhabited census areas in Bitonto. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.5%
  • fair 16.1%
  • good 83.3%

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

ISTAT code 072011. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.