Palagianello: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Taranto, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Palagianello
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: Corso Antonio Gramsci 1, Palagianello.
Palagianello, a castle on the ravine above the plain
Palagianello stands on the edge of a gravina, one of the deep ravines cut into the limestone on the side of the Murge plateau facing the Gulf of Taranto, in Puglia. The ravine walls hold rock churches and caves that were once lived in; at the top, next to the old centre, stands the castle. The town lies between Castellaneta and Mottola, and the plain below, planted with olive groves, vineyards and citrus, slopes down to the Ionian coast.
Taranto is where people go for work and larger services, a little over half an hour away by car. The market is made up of houses in the old core, often small and on several floors, and of flats and villas in the newer districts. If you buy in the old town near the edge of the ravine, look carefully at the state of the rock and of the retaining walls; with a country house, access, water supply and planning compliance matter. The climate is mild (zone C).
At the end of 2023 there were 7,543 residents, down 4.0% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 45.1, against 46.5 in the province, and households are large, 2.56 people on average. Foreign residents are just 0.8%, far fewer than in the rest of Italy, and declared incomes are below the provincial average.
Earthquake hazard is not uniform across the province of Taranto: 10 municipalities are in zone 3 and 19 in zone 4 of the scale used by the Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile). Palagianello is in zone 3, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.146 g, a medium value. For tufa or masonry buildings in the centre, it is worth asking whether floors and roofs have been redone, and how.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report traces each address to its plot. Near the ravine and along the channels that fill in heavy rain, rockfall and flooding are checked for the exact spot.
Key points
- Castle and rock churches on the edge of a Murge ravine.
- Households of 2.56 people, foreign residents 0.8%.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.146 g.
- Near the ravine, rock and retaining walls need checking.
Overview
Palagianello is a municipality in the province of Taranto, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 7,543 residents, ranked 19 of 29 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Palagianello is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 10 of 29 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.146 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 resident population has fallen by 4.0%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 0.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.6 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Palagianello declared an average taxable income of 17,977 euros, below the provincial average (20,557 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Palagianello is in climate zone C, with 1,317 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 133 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Palagianello has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets and 3 sports facilities.
The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 8.2% of the land in Palagianello, compared with 9.6% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.0 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Palagianello 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 Palagianello.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Palagianello: 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 Palagianello 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 31 inhabited census areas in Palagianello. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.0%
- fair 16.3%
- good 83.6%
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 073020. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.