Montalto di Castro: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Viterbo, Lazio. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
Land sheet 6 free checks
Search for an address in Montalto di Castro
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: Localita' Torre di Maremma 1, Montalto di Castro.
Montalto di Castro, Vulci, the coast and the Lazio Maremma
Montalto di Castro is the northernmost municipality on the Lazio coast, on the border with Tuscany, and it covers a very large area for its population. The town sits on a low rise a short way from the sea; Marina di Montalto is the beach resort and Pescia Romana the farming village towards the Tuscan border. Inland, along the Fiora river, is the archaeological park of Vulci, one of the great Etruscan cities.
For a buyer, the first question is which part of the municipality you are looking at. By the sea there are mostly second homes and holiday houses, with very quiet winters; in the town and the countryside people live all year round, often working in farming. The area also has a large power station on the coast and extensive solar farms in the countryside, worth bearing in mind if you want an isolated house. The Via Aurelia and the Tyrrhenian coast railway link Montalto with Civitavecchia, Rome and Grosseto.
Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 8,689 residents in 2023, down 0.9% since 2011. The mean age is 47.6, as in the province of Viterbo (47.5), and 26.1% are over 65. Foreign residents are 13.5%, many working in agriculture. Households are small, 2.02 people on average, and there are plenty of places to eat for a town of this size (8.17 per 1,000 residents), thanks to summer tourism.
Earthquakes are less of an issue than further inland. Montalto is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, like 20 municipalities in the province, while the other 40 are in zone 2; the expected ground acceleration is about 0.069 g, a low value. In seaside houses, salt air, damp and the upkeep of roofs and windows matter more.
The coastal plain and the Fiora valley need checking for flooding. The report reads the official maps at the address and, using the cadastral maps published by the Revenue Agency, traces the land parcel.
Key points
- Northern Lazio coast, with Marina di Montalto and Pescia Romana.
- Population down 0.9% since 2011; Vulci on the Fiora.
- Seismic zone 3, low expected acceleration (0.069 g).
- Coastal plain and Fiora valley: check flooding.
Overview
Montalto di Castro is a municipality in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 8,689 residents, ranked 8 of 60 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Montalto di Castro is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3B. Only 20 of 60 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.069 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 13.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Montalto di Castro declared an average taxable income of 21,423 euros, in line with the province (22,031 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Montalto di Castro is in climate zone D, with 1,497 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 42 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Montalto di Castro has 6 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 13 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.
There are 0.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).
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 8.2% of the land in Montalto di Castro, compared with 4.7% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 139.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
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 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Montalto di Castro, 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 Montalto di Castro: 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 Montalto di Castro 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 87 inhabited census areas in Montalto di Castro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 16.8%
- good 41.7%
- very good 41.5%
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.
- 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 056035. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.