Novoli: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Lecce, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Novoli
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 San Giovanni 1, Novoli.
Novoli, the Fòcara bonfire and vineyards near Lecce
Every year in mid-January Novoli lights the Fòcara, a huge bonfire in honour of Saint Anthony the Abbot, built from thousands of bundles of vine prunings and billed as the largest in the Mediterranean. The festival is what makes the town known beyond Salento, the heel of Italy, but for the rest of the year Novoli is a farming and residential town about a dozen kilometres north-west of Lecce, surrounded by Negroamaro vineyards, olive groves and flat countryside.
Buyers here usually want a bigger, cheaper house than in Lecce, with the city a few minutes away by car. The centre has courtyard houses in local Lecce stone, with vaulted ceilings and roof terraces, often needing restoration; around them are villas and blocks from recent decades. Historic houses need attention to rising damp, the condition of the vaults and the systems. The area is in climate zone C, with mild winters and hot, dry summers.
At the end of 2023 there were 7,482 residents, down 8.9% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. Novoli is older than the Salento average: an average age of 48.6 against 47.2, and over-65s at 28.7% against 26.1%. Foreign residents are 4.7%. Among recorded services, healthcare stands out, with 7 facilities, 0.94 per 1,000 residents against 0.60 in the province.
On earthquakes Novoli is as calm as the rest of Salento: all 96 municipalities in the province of Lecce are in seismic zone 4, the lowest class of the Civil Protection Department, and the expected ground acceleration here is about 0.048 g. The practical advice concerns small extensions and enclosed verandas, common in village houses: check they are properly authorised before signing a preliminary contract.
On a plain with no rivers, rainwater collects in the lowest areas and in the vore, Salento's natural sinkholes, and some streets flood after heavy storms. The report checks flood hazard for the address and finds the plot using the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate).
Key points
- Home of the Fòcara bonfire for Saint Anthony, north-west of Lecce.
- Over-65s at 28.7%, above the provincial average.
- Seismic zone 4, like every municipality in the province.
- 7 healthcare facilities, above average per resident.
Overview
Novoli is a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 7,482 residents, ranked 35 of 96 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Novoli 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 0.048 g, a low 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 8.9%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 4.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Novoli declared an average taxable income of 19,043 euros, in line with the province (19,196 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Novoli is in climate zone C, with 1,091 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 37 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Novoli has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 7 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities and 7 sports facilities.
There are 0.9 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more 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 16.2% of the land in Novoli, compared with 14.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.5 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Novoli 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 Novoli.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Novoli: 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 Novoli 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 29 inhabited census areas in Novoli. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 66 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.2%
- fair 38.3%
- good 61.5%
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.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Puglia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- 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 075055. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.