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Poggiardo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Poggiardo

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 Giovanni Capreoli 1, Poggiardo.

Poggiardo, a Byzantine crypt and Vaste in eastern Salento

Poggiardo acts as a small service town for the inland villages of Salento, the heel of Italy, between Maglie and the coast at Castro and Santa Cesarea. It is known for the Byzantine crypt of Santa Maria degli Angeli, found by chance in 1929: its frescoes, removed to save them, are displayed in a museum in the public gardens. The municipality also includes Vaste, a hamlet with the Parco dei Guerrieri archaeological park and the remains of an ancient Messapian settlement.

The landscape is typical Salento: almost flat ground, dry-stone walls, olive groves and the Adriatic a few minutes' drive away. Buyers will find houses in the old centre with vaulted ceilings and courtyards, often in need of renovation, newer detached homes on the edges and country houses. People who want to be near the sea at lower prices than on the coast often look at towns like this. Declared incomes are slightly below the provincial average. Climate zone C means mild winters and hot summers.

Services are denser than in the surrounding villages. Overture counts 1.38 supermarkets per 1,000 residents against 0.79 in the province, 1.89 sports facilities against 0.79 and 0.86 healthcare facilities against 0.60. Residents, 5,811 in 2023 according to Istat (the national statistics office), are down 5.0% since 2011; over-65s are 27.0%, slightly above the provincial 26.1%, and foreign residents 6.0%.

Seismic hazard is among the lowest in Italy: all 96 municipalities in the province of Lecce are in zone 4 of the Protezione Civile scale (Italy's Civil Protection Department), and expected acceleration here is about 0.062 g. In houses built of the local soft limestone, damp, the state of the vaults and the condition of the flat roofs matter more.

Salento has no rivers, but in heavy storms water collects in the lowest ground and in the drainage channels, and the limestone can hide cavities. The report checks flood and landslide hazard at the address, starting from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, which are published for Poggiardo.

Key points

  • Byzantine crypt of Santa Maria degli Angeli, frescoes in the museum.
  • Hamlet of Vaste with the Parco dei Guerrieri archaeological park.
  • More supermarkets than average: 1.38 per 1,000 residents.
  • Whole province in seismic zone 4, about 0.062 g.

Overview

Poggiardo is a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 5,811 residents, ranked 43 of 96 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Poggiardo is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 96 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.062 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 5.0%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 6.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Poggiardo declared an average taxable income of 18,602 euros, in line with the province (19,196 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Poggiardo is in climate zone C, with 1,229 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 87 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Poggiardo has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 11 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 1.4 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.8).

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 15.4% of the land in Poggiardo, compared with 14.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.3 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Poggiardo is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Puglia 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Poggiardo. 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 Poggiardo: 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 Poggiardo 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 24 inhabited census areas in Poggiardo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 6.1%
  • good 93.9%

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 075061. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.