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Formia: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Formia

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 Appia Lato Napoli 1, Formia.

Formia, the Gulf of Gaeta and ferries to Ponza

Squeezed between the sea and the Aurunci mountains, Formia stretches along the Gulf of Gaeta on the Appian Way. Ferries leave the port for Ponza and Ventotene, and the station on the Rome-Naples line connects it with both cities. The Romans already built seaside villas here; among the best-known remains is the monument called Cicero's tomb, since the orator had a villa in the area.

The coastal town was largely destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt afterwards, so many blocks in the centre are post-war. In these buildings the state of the structure, the wiring and plumbing and the service charges matter. Higher up, the villages of Maranola and Castellonorato have stone houses, narrow lanes and views over the gulf, with the usual issues of hill villages: access, parking and repairs.

On the Aurunci slopes and along the streams running down to the sea, landslide and flood hazard should be checked for the address, which the report does using the official maps.

Istat, the national statistics office, counts 36,883 residents in Formia (2023), up 1.5% on 2011. The town is older than the province of Latina, with an average age of 46.9 against 45.5 and over-65s at 25.6% against 22.8%. Foreign residents make up 4.1%. Average incomes are above the provincial average.

Formia is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection scale, like 30 of the 33 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.085 g. The hazard is moderate, but in the rebuilt post-war blocks it is still worth asking for the design date and any surveys. The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Ferries to Ponza and Ventotene, trains to Rome and Naples.
  • 36,883 residents, up 1.5% since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 25.6%, above the provincial average.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.085 g.

Overview

Formia is a municipality in the province of Latina, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 36,883 residents, ranked 5 of 33 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Formia is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3A. Most municipalities in the province (30 of 33) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.085 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 grown by 1.5%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 4.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Formia declared an average taxable income of 23,251 euros, above the provincial average (21,502 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Formia is in climate zone C, with 967 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 19 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Formia has 39 schools and 11 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 27 grocery shops and supermarkets, 33 healthcare facilities, 43 sports facilities and 13 parks and green areas.

There are 0.9 healthcare facilities 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 13.3% of the land in Formia, compared with 10.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land shrank by 0.6 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list 5 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Formia. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Formia: 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 Formia 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 409 inhabited census areas in Formia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.0%
  • fair 13.0%
  • good 69.8%
  • very good 17.2%

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

ISTAT code 059008. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.