Palestrina: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Roma, Lazio. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Palestrina
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 della Stella 1, Palestrina.
Palestrina, ancient Praeneste on the Prenestini hills
The town is built on top of the terraces of the sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, one of the largest religious complexes of Roman Italy, and at the top stands Palazzo Colonna Barberini, home to the archaeological museum and its great Nile mosaic. Palestrina, the ancient Praeneste, lies on the slopes of the Prenestini hills facing the countryside east of Rome, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina took his name from it.
The town hall stands at about 450 metres and the old centre climbs steeply, with steps and narrow streets; below, towards the plain, districts of small villas and low blocks have spread out, often chosen by families who work in Rome. The Via Prenestina and the roads to the motorway lead into the city, with journey times that depend heavily on the hour. The report measures elevation, slope and the distance to services from the address.
The town is growing: Istat, the national statistics office, counted 22,138 residents in 2023, up 8.0% on 2011. The population is younger than the provincial average, with a mean age of 44.6 against 46.0 and over-65s at 21.0%. Foreign residents make up 11.5%. Declared incomes are below the Rome metropolitan average.
Earthquake hazard is fairly high: Palestrina is in seismic zone 2, like 96 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.169 g. For old houses in the centre, built up against Roman structures, and for post-war blocks, ask about structural assessments and work. Being in climate zone E, winters are cold for Lazio, so insulation and heating weigh on costs.
On the hillside, landslides and retaining walls matter, and the report checks them against the official maps. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the land parcel is traced from the address.
Key points
- Ancient Praeneste, built over the sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia.
- Steep centre at about 450 metres, newer districts towards the plain.
- 22,138 residents, up 8.0% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.169 g.
Overview
Palestrina is a municipality in the province of Roma, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 22,138 residents, ranked 21 of 121 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Palestrina 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 (97 of 121) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.169 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Palestrina, 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 grown by 8.0%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 11.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Palestrina declared an average taxable income of 22,264 euros, below the provincial average (28,682 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Palestrina is in climate zone E, with 2,141 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 450 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Palestrina has 15 schools and 8 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 12 grocery shops and supermarkets, 14 healthcare facilities and 24 sports facilities.
There are 0.5 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).
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 13.6% of the land in Palestrina, compared with 13.2% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is high. 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 Palestrina; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Palestrina: 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 Palestrina 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 96 inhabited census areas in Palestrina. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 5.7%
- fair 54.7%
- good 39.6%
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.
- 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 058074. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.