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Ortelle: 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 Ortelle

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 Giuseppe Garibaldi 0, Ortelle.

Ortelle and Vignacastrisi, inland Salento near Castro

Ortelle is a municipality in southern Salento, the heel of Italy, made up of two villages: Ortelle itself and Vignacastrisi, a few minutes apart among olive groves, dry stone walls and old farmhouses. The Adriatic coast at Castro is a short drive away, while Lecce and Maglie are where people go for offices, hospital care and secondary schools.

Buyers will mostly find courtyard houses and one or two storey homes in the old centres, often built in local stone or tuff, with newer detached houses on the edges. In older homes, rising damp and the condition of the vaulted ceilings are the things to check. The climate is zone C, meaning mild winters and long hot summers, so keeping cool in July matters more than heating.

The population is slowly shrinking. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 2,179 residents in 2023, down 7.6% from 2,359 in 2011. The average age is 49.8, against 47.2 for the province of Lecce, and 29.9% of residents are over 65. Foreign nationals are few, at 2.4%.

Salento is one of the calmest parts of Italy for earthquakes. Ortelle is in seismic zone 4, like all 96 municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.064 g. Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published, and the report finds the plot from the address and checks the official flood maps for it.

Key points

  • Two villages, Ortelle and Vignacastrisi, inland near Castro.
  • 2,179 residents, down 7.6% since 2011.
  • Average age 49.8, with 29.9% over 65.
  • Seismic zone 4, like the whole province of Lecce.

Overview

Ortelle is a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,179 residents, ranked 81 of 96 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Ortelle 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 0.064 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 7.6%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (47). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Ortelle declared an average taxable income of 18,560 euros, in line with the province (19,196 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Ortelle is in climate zone C, with 1,282 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 99 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Ortelle has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility, 2 sports facilities and 1 green area.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 per 1,000 residents.

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 18.2% of the land in Ortelle, compared with 14.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.7 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Ortelle 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 Ortelle. 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 Ortelle: 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 Ortelle 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 12 inhabited census areas in Ortelle. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 47.5%
  • good 52.5%

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

ISTAT code 075056. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.