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Montefiascone: 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

Search for an address in Montefiascone

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 Zepponami 1, Montefiascone.

Montefiascone, the dome above Lake Bolsena

You can spot it from far away by the great dome of Santa Margherita cathedral and the Rocca dei Papi, the papal fortress, on top of a hill almost six hundred metres up on the rim of Lake Bolsena. Montefiascone is the home of Est! Est!! Est!!! wine, lies on the Via Francigena pilgrim route and is about twenty minutes' drive north of Viterbo.

The municipality takes in very different settings. The hilly old centre has houses built of volcanic stone with lake views, often needing work and short of parking. Lower down there are newer districts and scattered houses among vineyards and hazelnut groves, and on the lakeshore a few homes used for holidays. Winters up here are cold and windy (climate zone E, one of the colder bands), so heating and insulation weigh on running costs.

There are 13,008 residents (2023), down 2.8% since 2011. The population is a little older than the Viterbo province average, with a mean age of 48.2 and 27.3% over 65. Foreign residents make up 8.4%. For a town of this size there are plenty of supermarkets and schools, because Montefiascone also serves the villages around the lake.

The lake fills an ancient volcanic caldera and the area has seismic activity to take into account: Montefiascone is in zone 2, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.142 g. In the masonry buildings of the old town, have a surveyor check how walls and floors are tied together and what state the roof is in before you buy.

Landslides are possible on the sides of the hill and along the banks dropping to the lake, while on flat ground the issue hardly arises. The report checks the hazard maps for the address, starting from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, which are available for the town.

Key points

  • On the rim of Lake Bolsena, home of Est! Est!! Est!!! wine.
  • Population down 2.8% since 2011, 27.3% over 65.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.142 g.
  • Stone houses in the old town: check walls, floors and roofs.

Overview

Montefiascone is a municipality in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 13,008 residents, among the most populous in the province (5 of 60).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Montefiascone is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2B. Most municipalities in the province (40 of 60) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.142 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Montefiascone, 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 2.8%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 8.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Montefiascone declared an average taxable income of 21,821 euros, in line with the province (22,031 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Montefiascone is in climate zone E, with 2,467 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 590 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Montefiascone has 13 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 16 grocery shops and supermarkets, 9 healthcare facilities, 10 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 1.2 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more 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 5.5% of the land in Montefiascone, compared with 4.7% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 6.7 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 no open contaminated sites in Montefiascone; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Montefiascone: 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 Montefiascone 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 79 inhabited census areas in Montefiascone. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 72 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 24.7%
  • good 56.6%
  • very good 18.8%

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 056036. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.