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Penne: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Penne

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 dei Vestini 1, Penne.

Penne, the brick town between the Gran Sasso and the Adriatic

Penne is built almost entirely of brick: the palazzi, churches and houses of the old centre share the same warm colour and line streets climbing over the hills. This is the hinterland of Pescara, at around four hundred metres, with the Gran Sasso massif behind and, on clear days, the sea on the horizon. It was ancient Pinna, a centre of the Vestini people, and remains a bishop's seat together with Pescara.

Pescara is about thirty kilometres away, some three quarters of an hour by car, and Penne is still the main town of the surrounding Vestini area, with a hospital and secondary schools. Just outside the centre is the Lago di Penne nature reserve, a reservoir on the river Tavo. Buyers will find old palazzi and townhouses on several floors in the centre, often needing work, and small blocks and detached houses in the newer areas.

In 2023 there were 11,094 residents, down 12.8% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. Penne ranks number 5 by population in its province but is older than average: 48.0 against 46.6, with over-65s at 26.8% against 24.8%. Foreign residents make up 4.6%, and average incomes are below the province of Pescara.

Earthquake hazard is significant. In the province of Pescara, 18 municipalities are in zone 1, the highest on the Civil Protection Department's scale, and 28 in zone 2; Penne is in zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.181 g. Brick masonry buildings in the old centre perform well when walls and floors are properly tied together, so before buying ask whether seismic upgrading has been done and whether any structural assessment exists.

The clay hills around the town make landslides worth checking, as is flooding on valley floors; the report checks both at the address with the official maps. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the whole municipality.

Key points

  • Brick-built old town at about four hundred metres.
  • Hospital and secondary schools for the whole Vestini area.
  • Population down 12.8% since 2011, over-65s at 26.8%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.181 g.

Overview

Penne is a municipality in the province of Pescara, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 11,094 residents, among the most populous in the province (5 of 46).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Penne is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (28 of 46) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.181 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Penne, 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 12.8%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 4.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Penne declared an average taxable income of 20,766 euros, below the provincial average (23,063 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Penne is in climate zone D, with 1,811 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 438 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Penne has 9 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 11 grocery shops and supermarkets, 6 healthcare facilities, 9 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 1.0 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

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 4.5% of the land in Penne, compared with 7.3% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.9 hectares.

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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Penne, and one more has 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 Penne: 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 Penne 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 52 inhabited census areas in Penne. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 2.0%
  • fair 63.1%
  • good 34.9%

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 068027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.