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Nardò: 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 Nardò

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: Strada Santa Maria 1, Nardò.

Nardò, the baroque town and the Porto Selvaggio coast

Nardò has one of the largest territories in Salento, the heel of Italy, stretching from inland farmland to the Ionian coast. The historic centre is baroque, with Piazza Salandra and the spire of the Immacolata, churches and palazzi in soft Lecce stone. On the sea are the resorts of Santa Maria al Bagno and Santa Caterina and the Porto Selvaggio nature park, with its rocky shore and pine woods. Out in the countryside lies the big vehicle test track known to carmakers around the world.

Buyers in Nardò choose between three very different situations. The old centre has courtyard houses and small palazzi with stone vaults, often needing renovation, to be checked for damp and the condition of the vaults. The seaside villages are mostly second homes, full in summer and empty in winter, with prices driven by tourism. In the countryside there are farmhouses (masserie) and villas among olive groves, many of them killed in recent years by the Xylella bacterium, and you need to check water supply, utility connections and building permits.

There were 30,748 residents in 2023, down 3.0% since 2011. Nardò is one of the largest towns in the province of Lecce, with 4.0% of its population. The estimated average age is 46.9, close to the provincial 47.2, and over-65s make up 25.0%. Foreign nationals are few, 2.6%, and incomes are in line with the provincial average.

For earthquakes Salento is one of the quietest parts of Italy: all 96 municipalities in the province are in zone 4 of the Civil Protection classification, and in Nardò the expected ground acceleration is about 0.052 g. Near the sea, salt air, damp and upkeep of facades and balcony steelwork matter more.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, so the report finds the plot from the address. On the coast and in the low-lying countryside it also checks flood and landslide hazard on the official maps.

Key points

  • Baroque centre in Lecce stone and resorts on the Ionian Sea.
  • The seaside villages are mostly second homes.
  • Population down 3.0% since 2011, over-65s at 25.0%.
  • Seismic zone 4, like the whole province of Lecce.

Overview

Nardò is a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 30,748 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Nardò 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 0.052 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 3.0%. 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 2.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Nardò declared an average taxable income of 19,142 euros, in line with the province (19,196 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Nardò is in climate zone C, with 1,208 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 45 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Nardò has 20 schools and 10 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 25 grocery shops and supermarkets, 19 healthcare facilities, 28 sports facilities and 11 parks and green areas.

There are 0.7 schools 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 10.5% of the land in Nardò, compared with 14.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 15.5 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Nardò 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 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Nardò, 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 Nardò: 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 Nardò 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 349 inhabited census areas in Nardò. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 30.0%
  • good 70.0%

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 075052. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.