Penna San Giovanni: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Macerata, Marche. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Penna San Giovanni
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 Beato Giovanni 1, Penna San Giovanni.
Penna San Giovanni, a ridge-top village inland from Macerata
Penna San Giovanni stands on a ridge in the hills inland from Macerata, at over 600 metres. On one side it looks towards the Sibillini mountains, on the other towards the hills that run down to the Adriatic. The old centre is compact, with stone and brick houses along narrow, sloping streets, surrounded by fields, woods and scattered country houses.
People come here for peace and scenery rather than for services. Offices, larger shops and the hospital are down in the valley towns, so anyone working will be driving every day on hill roads. Houses in the centre often have several floors, with cellars and internal stairs. Country houses give you space, but access, heating, wiring and the condition of the structure all need a careful look.
The village has 928 residents (2023), 226 fewer than in 2011, a fall of 19.6% according to Istat, the national statistics office. It is an older community: the average age is 53.5 against 47.2 for the province, and over-65s make up 37.4%, against 26.5%. Foreign residents account for 16.9%, and households are small, 2.03 people on average.
Earthquakes are the first thing to look into. Penna San Giovanni is in seismic zone 2, as classified by the Civil Protection Department, along with 48 other municipalities in the province of Macerata, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is 0.176 g. Before buying, ask whether the building was damaged in recent tremors, what repairs were carried out and under which planning permits, and whether there is a structural vulnerability assessment.
On the slopes, the report checks the exact address against the official landslide maps, and the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the whole municipality.
Key points
- Ridge-top village inland from Macerata, above 600 metres.
- Average age 53.5, over-65s at 37.4%.
- Population down 19.6% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2: ask about damage and repairs after recent tremors.
Overview
Penna San Giovanni is a municipality in the province of Macerata, in Marche. At the end of 2023 it had 928 residents, ranked 39 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Penna San Giovanni is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (49 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.176 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Penna San Giovanni, 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 fallen by 19.6%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (47). 37% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 16.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Penna San Giovanni declared an average taxable income of 19,314 euros, below the provincial average (23,312 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Penna San Giovanni is in climate zone E, with 2,377 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 630 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Penna San Giovanni has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy.
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 3.6% of the land in Penna San Giovanni, compared with 5.7% in the province and 7.0% 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 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 Penna San Giovanni.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Penna San Giovanni: 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 Penna San Giovanni 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 16 inhabited census areas in Penna San Giovanni. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 100.0%
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 043035. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.