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Montale: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Montale

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 Antonio Gramsci 1, Montale.

Montale, between Prato and Pistoia below the Apennines

The plain linking Prato and Pistoia is almost entirely built up, with textile works, busy provincial roads and villages that run into one another. Montale sits on its northern edge. The lower part of the municipality is flat, close to Agliana and Montemurlo, while to the north the land climbs into the first Apennine hills, with woods, scattered hamlets and narrow lanes.

For a buyer the basic choice is between the two. On the plain you are close to shops and to the roads used by people who work in the Prato textile district or in Pistoia. In the hills you get more quiet and more green, but longer journeys and total reliance on the car. In the low-lying areas, keep an eye on the streams that come down from the mountains across the plain: the report checks the official flood maps for the exact address. On the slopes, gradient and landslides matter more.

The population has barely moved. At the end of 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 10,568 residents, down 1.1% on the 10,682 of 2011. The average age is 48.0, against 47.5 for the province of Pistoia, and 27.7% of residents are over 65. Foreign residents make up 6.7%. Declared incomes are slightly above the provincial average.

Earthquakes deserve attention here. Montale is in seismic zone 2, like 5 other municipalities in the province, while 14 are in zone 3. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.161 g. In blocks from the 1960s and 1970s, common on the plain, ask whether the building has had structural surveys or strengthening work.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so the report can trace an address to its land parcel. The town has 6 supermarkets and 3 pharmacies; for hospitals and secondary schools people look to Pistoia or Prato.

Key points

  • Flat land towards Prato and Agliana, Apennine hills to the north.
  • 10,568 residents, down 1.1% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.161 g.
  • Average incomes slightly above the province of Pistoia.

Overview

Montale is a municipality in the province of Pistoia, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 10,568 residents, ranked 8 of 20 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Montale is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 6 of 20 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.161 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Montale, 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 1.1%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 6.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Montale declared an average taxable income of 24,281 euros, in line with the province (23,480 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Montale is in climate zone D, with 1,811 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 85 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Montale has 8 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 6 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 9 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.5 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer 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 9.5% of the land in Montale, compared with 10.3% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Montale is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Montale, and 2 more have 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 Montale: 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 Montale 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 88 inhabited census areas in Montale. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 5.8%
  • fair 57.2%
  • good 37.0%

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

ISTAT code 047010. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.