Cagnano Varano: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Foggia, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Cagnano Varano
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: Corso Giannone 1, Cagnano Varano.
Cagnano Varano, a Gargano town above Lake Varano
From the top of the town you can see the whole of Lake Varano, the large coastal lagoon on the Gargano promontory, cut off from the Adriatic by a long strip of sand and pinewood. Cagnano Varano stands on its southern shore, on high ground above the water, inside the Gargano National Park. Mussels are farmed and eels fished in the lake, and the surrounding hills are covered in olive groves and pasture.
House hunters here find two quite different options. In the town, the houses are masonry, on steep streets, often old and in need of work; along the lake shore and on the strip towards the sea there are scattered houses and holiday homes, used mainly in summer. Foggia and San Severo are the towns people go to for hospitals and public offices, by car. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.
Istat, the national statistics office, counted 6,587 residents in 2023, 11.6% fewer than the 7,451 of 2011. It is a sharp fall and it has pushed the age up: over-65s make up 27.4%, against 23.3% across the province of Foggia, and the average age is 46.9. Foreign residents are only 2.0%.
The Gargano is one of the most earthquake-prone parts of Puglia. Cagnano Varano is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 51 municipalities in the province, while another 10 are in zone 1; the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.204 g, a high value. For an old house in the centre, the year it was built, the state of the load-bearing walls and any strengthening work all matter, and are best checked by a surveyor.
The lake shores are low and some areas near the water can flood, while on the slopes above the town the concern is landslides. The report checks both hazards at the exact address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps here, and the report traces the address to its land parcel.
Key points
- On the southern shore of Lake Varano, inside the Gargano National Park.
- Over-65s at 27.4%, against 23.3% in the province.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.204 g.
- Low lake shores and hillsides: flooding and landslides by address.
Overview
Cagnano Varano is a municipality in the province of Foggia, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 6,587 residents, ranked 17 of 61 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cagnano Varano is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (51 of 61) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.204 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Cagnano Varano, 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 11.6%. The estimated average age is 47 years, higher than the province average (45). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cagnano Varano declared an average taxable income of 14,369 euros, below the provincial average (18,478 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Cagnano Varano is in climate zone C, with 1,396 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 165 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cagnano Varano has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.8 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).
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 2.4% of the land in Cagnano Varano, compared with 4.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Cagnano Varano is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Puglia in 2025. 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 Cagnano Varano.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Cagnano Varano: 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 Cagnano Varano 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 33 inhabited census areas in Cagnano Varano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.3%
- fair 61.7%
- good 38.0%
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 Puglia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- 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 071008. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.