Martina Franca: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Taranto, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Martina Franca
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 Villa Castelli 1, Martina Franca.
Martina Franca, baroque streets and trulli in the Itria Valley
At around 430 metres, on the edge of the Murgia plateau, Martina Franca looks down over the Itria Valley. Its old town is baroque and built of pale stone, with the Palazzo Ducale and the basilica of San Martino, and every summer it hosts the Valle d'Itria Festival, devoted to opera. It is also the home of capocollo, one of Puglia's best-known cured meats.
The countryside is what most buyers from elsewhere are after. The municipality covers a large area dotted with trulli, the conical stone houses of the region, masserie and scattered homes, many restored as residences or holiday lets. There is a lot to check here: road access, water, drainage, the legality of extensions and pools, and landscape restrictions, which are strict in this area. For a trullo, the condition of the dry-stone roof and any leaks matter too.
At this altitude winters are colder than on the coast, with the occasional snowfall, and heating costs count (climate zone D). The Ferrovie del Sud Est railway links the town with Bari and Taranto.
Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 46,849 residents in 2023, 4.4% fewer than in 2011. Over-65s make up 25.3%, close to the average for the province of Taranto, and foreign residents 3.4%. There are 303 bars and restaurants, 6.47 per 1,000 residents against 4.61 in the province, a sign of tourism.
Seismic hazard is low: Martina Franca is in zone 4 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 18 other municipalities in the province, with an expected acceleration of about 0.063 g. The Revenue Agency publishes the land registry maps; for rural buildings it is worth comparing the map with what is actually there, as trulli and outbuildings are sometimes still recorded with old data.
Key points
- Baroque centre, an opera festival and trulli in the countryside.
- 46,849 residents, down 4.4% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.063 g.
- Country houses: landscape rules and permits need checking.
Overview
Martina Franca is a municipality in the province of Taranto, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 46,849 residents, the second most populous in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Martina Franca is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (19 of 29) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.063 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 4.4%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Martina Franca declared an average taxable income of 20,512 euros, in line with the province (20,557 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Martina Franca is in climate zone D, with 1,844 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 431 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Martina Franca has 33 schools and 15 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 34 grocery shops and supermarkets, 37 healthcare facilities, 37 sports facilities and 13 parks and green areas.
There are 0.8 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 8.8% of the land in Martina Franca, compared with 9.6% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 11.5 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Martina Franca 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 Martina Franca.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Martina Franca: 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 Martina Franca 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 212 inhabited census areas in Martina Franca. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.8%
- fair 42.6%
- good 56.6%
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 073013. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.