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Pelago: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Firenze, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Pelago

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 Casentinese 1, Pelago.

Pelago, from the Sieve valley to the Consuma woods

Pelago is a municipality in the Valdisieve, east of Florence, that climbs from the valley floor up to the woods near the Consuma pass, above a thousand metres. The main village is a hill settlement at around 300 metres, the birthplace of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, who made the doors of the Florence Baptistery. On the valley floor is the hamlet of San Francesco, effectively joined to Pontassieve and its station on the line into Florence.

Very different markets sit side by side here. San Francesco has flats and apartment blocks that suit people who work in Florence and commute by train. In the village and the hill hamlets such as Diacceto, Paterno and Borselli, stone houses and farmhouses dominate, often with land, narrow roads and winters that get colder the higher you go; towards the Consuma most homes are holiday houses.

At the end of 2023 there were 7,841 residents, up 4.4% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 47.1, in line with 47.3 for the Metropolitan City of Florence; over-65s are 25.6% and foreign residents 8.2%. Average declared incomes are slightly below the metropolitan average.

The Mugello and the Valdisieve are the most earthquake-prone part of the Florence area. On the scale kept by the Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile), the 13 municipalities in zone 2 are mostly found here, while the other 28 are in zone 3. Pelago is in zone 2, with expected ground acceleration in the main village of about 0.146 g. With farmhouses and stone houses, the question to ask is what work has been done on the walls, floors and roof, and with what permits.

Landslide and flood hazard also change between valley floor and hills: near the Sieve and on steep slopes it has to be read for the address, and the report does so starting from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, which are published for Pelago.

Key points

  • From the Sieve valley floor up to the Consuma woods.
  • Birthplace of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.146 g.
  • 7,841 residents, up 4.4% since 2011.

Overview

Pelago is a municipality in the province of Firenze, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 7,841 residents, ranked 30 of 41 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pelago is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 13 of 41 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

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.

For anyone buying in Pelago, 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 4.4%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 8.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pelago declared an average taxable income of 24,876 euros, below the provincial average (27,023 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Pelago is in climate zone E, with 2,238 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 309 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pelago has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities and 4 sports facilities.

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 6.1% of the land in Pelago, compared with 7.4% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Pelago is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Pelago, and 2 more have been cleaned up or closed. 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 Pelago: 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 Pelago 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 103 inhabited census areas in Pelago. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • poor 0.1%
  • modest 9.8%
  • fair 79.3%
  • good 10.9%

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 048032. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.