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Melpignano: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Melpignano

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 Castrignano 1, Melpignano.

Melpignano, home of the Notte della Taranta

Every summer, at the end of August, thousands of people come to Melpignano for the final concert of the Notte della Taranta, the festival of Salento folk music, held in the square of the former Augustinian convent. The rest of the year it is a quiet village of the Grecìa Salentina, south of Lecce and near Maglie, in flat countryside of olive trees and dry stone walls.

The old centre has courtyard houses in local Lecce stone, an arcaded square and old palazzi; on the edges there are newer homes and detached houses. Buying a courtyard house means space and inner yards, but also budgeting for work on roofs, render and rising damp. Maglie has shops and secondary schools, and Lecce is within driving distance.

According to Istat, the national statistics office, there were 2,089 residents in 2023, down 5.4% on 2011. The average age is 48.5, slightly above the 47.2 of the province of Lecce, and over-65s make up 28.3%. Foreign residents account for 2.5%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Earthquakes are not the main concern here: seismic zone 4, the lowest, like the whole province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.056 g. In the stone vaults of old houses it is still worth having cracks and leaks looked at.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps: the report goes from the address to the plot and measures distances to schools, pharmacies and shops. The climate zone is C, with mild winters.

Key points

  • Grecìa Salentina village, home of the Notte della Taranta concert.
  • Courtyard houses in Lecce stone in the old centre.
  • 2,089 residents, down 5.4% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, like the whole province of Lecce.

Overview

Melpignano is a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,089 residents, ranked 84 of 96 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Melpignano is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 96 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.056 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 5.4%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Melpignano declared an average taxable income of 16,678 euros, below the provincial average (19,196 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Melpignano is in climate zone C, with 1,250 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 89 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Melpignano has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 per 1,000 residents.

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 24.8% of the land in Melpignano, compared with 14.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.4 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Melpignano 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 Melpignano.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Melpignano: 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 Melpignano 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 14 inhabited census areas in Melpignano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.2%
  • fair 42.0%
  • good 57.8%

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 075045. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.