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Gaeta: 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 Gaeta

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: Lungomare Giovanni Caboto 1, Gaeta.

Gaeta, the headland on the gulf and Serapo beach

On the headland that closes the Gulf of Gaeta, in the south of the Lazio coast, the medieval quarter of Sant'Erasmo climbs towards Monte Orlando, a park above the sea. The rest of the town spread along the bay, facing Formia, and on the open-sea side lies the long Serapo beach. The harbour is home to fishing boats, pleasure craft and a US Navy base.

Tourism shapes the housing market. Many homes are second homes used in summer, especially towards Serapo and on the hills with sea views; in the old quarter houses are often small, on alleys and flights of steps. Gaeta has no working railway station, so for trains you go to Formia on the Rome-Naples line, while the Via Flacca follows the coast to Sperlonga and Terracina.

At the end of 2023 there were 19,300 residents, down 7.0% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The population is clearly older than in the province of Latina: an estimated average age of 49.4 against 45.5, over-65s at 29.5% against 22.8%. Households are small, 2.09 people on average, foreign nationals make up 4.3% and declared incomes are above the provincial average.

Earthquake hazard is moderate. In the province, 3 municipalities are in zone 2 and 30 in zone 3 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, Gaeta among them (zone 3), with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.077 g. For houses near the sea, damp, salt corroding the steel in reinforced concrete and the state of facades and balconies often matter more.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for Gaeta, so the report finds the land parcel from the address. On the headland and below the rock faces, rockfall should be checked at the exact spot, as should flooding in the low-lying areas by the beach.

Key points

  • Medieval Sant'Erasmo quarter, Monte Orlando and Serapo beach.
  • Many second homes; trains from nearby Formia.
  • Over-65s 29.5% against 22.8% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.077 g.

Overview

Gaeta is a municipality in the province of Latina, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 19,300 residents, ranked 10 of 33 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Gaeta 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 0.077 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 7.0%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 4.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Gaeta declared an average taxable income of 24,416 euros, above the provincial average (21,502 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Gaeta is in climate zone C, with 938 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 2 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Gaeta has 13 schools and 7 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 21 grocery shops and supermarkets, 13 healthcare facilities, 31 sports facilities and 6 parks and green areas.

There are 1.1 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 18.4% of the land in Gaeta, compared with 10.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Gaeta, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. 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 Gaeta: 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 Gaeta 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 134 inhabited census areas in Gaeta. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 78 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 6.6%
  • good 57.2%
  • very good 33.8%
  • excellent 2.4%

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 059009. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.