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Piancastagnaio: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Piancastagnaio

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 Antonio Gramsci 1, Piancastagnaio.

Piancastagnaio, chestnuts and geothermal power on Mount Amiata

On the eastern slopes of Mount Amiata, at around seven hundred and seventy metres, Piancastagnaio carries the chestnut tree in its very name: the woods around the town produce Amiata chestnuts, and the Aldobrandeschi fortress towers over the old centre. The land has another resource, the heat of the earth: several geothermal power stations operate here and are part of the landscape along with the woods.

Buyers will find an old centre built of stone, with sloping lanes and houses on several levels, and newer districts around it. Winters are cold (climate zone E), and heating is a real cost at this altitude. For work and services, people rely on the Amiata towns and, further off, Siena and Grosseto. Average declared incomes are below the average for the province of Siena.

In 2023 there were 3,867 residents, down 7.4% from 4,176 in 2011. The average age is 48.8 against 47.6 for the province, over-65s make up 29.0% and foreign residents 11.7%.

Earthquakes deserve more attention here than elsewhere around Siena. In the province only 4 municipalities are in seismic zone 2, Piancastagnaio among them, and the other 31 are in zone 3. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.140 g. In the stone houses of the old centre, ask whether there has been strengthening work and how walls and floors are tied together.

The slopes of Amiata are steep, with ground that can slide. The report checks gradient and the official landslide and flood maps for the address and, using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, traces the building's plot.

Key points

  • Eastern slopes of Amiata, among chestnut woods and geothermal plants.
  • One of only 4 Siena municipalities in seismic zone 2.
  • 3,867 residents, down 7.4% since 2011.
  • Expected acceleration of about 0.140 g in the built-up area.

Overview

Piancastagnaio is a municipality in the province of Siena, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 3,867 residents, ranked 19 of 35 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Piancastagnaio is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 4 of 35 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.140 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Piancastagnaio, 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 7.4%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 11.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Piancastagnaio declared an average taxable income of 22,389 euros, below the provincial average (25,404 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Piancastagnaio is in climate zone E, with 2,629 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 772 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Piancastagnaio has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

There are 0.3 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, fewer 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 3.8% of the land in Piancastagnaio, compared with 4.0% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Piancastagnaio is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area by the Regione Toscana in 2025. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Piancastagnaio. 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 Piancastagnaio: 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 Piancastagnaio 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 40 inhabited census areas in Piancastagnaio. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 81 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 11.4%
  • good 21.0%
  • very good 67.5%

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 052020. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.