Palo del Colle: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bari, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Palo del Colle
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: Viale Italia 1, Palo del Colle.
Palo del Colle, inland from Bari towards the Murge
Palo del Colle lies about twenty kilometres from Bari, inland on the first rises that climb towards the Murge plateau, at just under two hundred metres. Olive groves, almond orchards and vineyards surround it, the typical farming landscape of the Bari countryside, with dry-stone walls and scattered masserie, the old fortified farmhouses.
It is a commuter town for people working in Bari and in the Modugno industrial zone. Besides the road, the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane railway links it to the city. The old centre has courtyard houses and limestone palazzi on narrow lanes, many with vaulted ceilings; blocks of flats and villas have been added around them. Anyone buying an old house should budget for damp, waterproofing of the flat roofs and work on the vaults.
Istat, the national statistics office, counts 20,475 residents in 2023, down 5.0% since 2011. The population is still young compared with the province: an average age of 44.1 against 45.8, over-65s at 20.7% and households of 2.56 people on average. Foreign nationals make up 2.5%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average, and cafés, restaurants and sports facilities are few per resident, as many people look to Bari for these.
Seismic hazard is moderate: Palo del Colle is in zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, along with 33 other municipalities in the province, and expected ground acceleration is about 0.084 g. In vaulted masonry houses, have the structure checked and ask about past work, especially where openings have been cut or storeys added.
The limestone of the Murge causes few landslide problems, but in the lame, the natural channels where water runs after storms, sudden flooding can occur, and the report checks the address against the official maps. The land registry of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) is published.
Key points
- Inland from Bari, linked by the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane railway.
- Average age 44.1, households of 2.56 people.
- Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.084 g.
- Storm channels: flood hazard checked for the address.
Overview
Palo del Colle is a municipality in the province of Bari, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 20,475 residents, ranked 18 of 41 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Palo del Colle is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (34 of 41) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.084 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 5.0%. The estimated average age is 44 years, lower than the province average (46). 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.6 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Palo del Colle declared an average taxable income of 19,818 euros, below the provincial average (21,788 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Palo del Colle is in climate zone D, with 1,435 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 177 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Palo del Colle has 13 schools and 6 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 12 grocery shops and supermarkets, 11 healthcare facilities, 4 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.
There are 0.5 healthcare facilities 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 8.9% of the land in Palo del Colle, compared with 9.7% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.0 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Palo del Colle 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 open contaminated sites in Palo del Colle; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Palo del Colle: 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 Palo del Colle 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 58 inhabited census areas in Palo del Colle. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 72 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.0%
- fair 4.5%
- good 95.4%
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 072033. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.