Pistoia: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Pistoia, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Search for an address in Pistoia
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 Dante 7, Milan.
Pistoia, the plant nursery city
The countryside around Pistoia is dotted with plant nurseries: growing ornamental plants and trees is what the local economy is best known for, at the foot of the Apennines and roughly halfway between Florence and Lucca. The historic centre revolves around Piazza del Duomo, with its baptistery and bell tower, and still has the old Ospedale del Ceppo hospital with its glazed terracotta frieze.
The population has barely moved: 89,054 residents at the end of 2023 against 89,101 at the 2011 census. Pistoia is the largest municipality in the province and home to 30.7% of its people. The estimated average age, 48.2, is almost a year above the provincial average, and 27.6% of residents are over 65. The average household has 2.17 people.
The seismic classification here needs a careful read. Pistoia is in zone 2, whereas most of the province (14 of its 20 municipalities) is in zone 3: only 6 municipalities, the city among them, fall into the highest class found in the province. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is estimated at about 0.163 g, a medium-high value. For a buyer, that makes the building's design date, structural surveys and any seismic upgrading details to ask for before signing.
Services are close to the provincial norm. The Ministry of Health lists 27 pharmacies, 0.30 per 1,000 residents against 0.31. Healthcare facilities are denser in Overture Maps data, with 67 in total (0.75 per 1,000 against 0.54).
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are available, so the report reaches the sheet and parcel numbers (foglio and particella) from an address. Between the nursery-covered plain and the hills rising towards the Apennines the land varies a lot, so landslide and flood hazard and local prices are checked at the address rather than averaged over the municipality.
Key points
- Home of Italy's ornamental plant nurseries, between Florence and Lucca.
- Population almost identical to 2011: 89,054 residents.
- Seismic zone 2, while 14 of the province's 20 municipalities are in zone 3.
- Pharmacies per resident in line with the province.
Overview
Pistoia is the capital of the province of Pistoia, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 89,054 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 31% of the province's residents live here.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pistoia is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 6 of 20 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.163 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Pistoia, 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.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood risk changes from one street to the next, even within the same municipality: for this reason we do not summarise it as a single figure for the whole of Pistoia.
The report checks the exact address against the ISPRA national maps and tells you in plain words whether the building falls within an at-risk area. The official map is also available on IdroGEO.
House prices
We do not publish price tables by municipality. The report gives the minimum and maximum price per square metre for the address's zone, from the Revenue Agency's OMI valuations, with the reference half-year. It is a range for the zone, not the value of a specific home.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pistoia has 73 schools and 27 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 38 grocery shops and supermarkets, 67 healthcare facilities, 88 sports facilities and 10 parks and green areas.
There are 0.8 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).
This data is gathered from several providers: services may be missing or closed businesses may still appear. The report counts services within 500 metres and 1 kilometre of the address.
Public transport
We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.
Land registry
The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps for Pistoia: the report finds the building's parcel, that is its sheet and parcel number, starting from the address.
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 2026-08-19.0.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 047014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.