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Popoli Terme: 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 Popoli Terme

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 Antonio Gramsci 1, Popoli Terme.

Popoli Terme, where the Pescara river begins

Popoli Terme stands where the Aterno leaves the mountains and, together with springs rising at the foot of the town, becomes the river Pescara. The valley narrows here into the Gole di Popoli gorge, the natural passage between the Sulmona basin, the L'Aquila area and the valley that runs down to the Adriatic. From the town you can see the Cantelmo castle on the hill and, in the centre, the medieval Taverna Ducale.

For getting around, the location works well. Popoli has a station on the Rome-Pescara railway and the A25 motorway passes close by, so Pescara and Sulmona are within reasonable reach. The old centre has stone houses built against the hillside; newer buildings are concentrated lower down, closer to the rivers.

The town is losing people, though. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 4,674 residents in 2023, down 14.2% since 2011, or 776 fewer. The average age is 49.5, against 46.6 in the province, and over-65s make up 29.7%. Foreign residents account for 4.9%.

Earthquakes are the first thing to look at. Popoli Terme is in seismic zone 1, the highest class set by the Civil Protection Department, along with 17 other municipalities in the province of Pescara, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.254 g, a high value. For a masonry house, ask for paperwork on any structural work and, ideally, get a surveyor's opinion before making an offer. Between the steep sides of the gorge and the banks of the Aterno and Pescara, the report also checks landslide and flood maps for the exact address.

Key points

  • At the Popoli gorge, where the Aterno and springs form the Pescara.
  • Station on the Rome-Pescara line, A25 motorway nearby.
  • 4,674 residents, down 14.2% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration about 0.254 g.

Overview

Popoli Terme is a municipality in the province of Pescara, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 4,674 residents, ranked 11 of 46 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Popoli Terme is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Only 18 of 46 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.254 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Popoli Terme, 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 14.2%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 4.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Popoli Terme declared an average taxable income of 22,186 euros, in line with the province (23,063 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Popoli Terme is in climate zone D, with 1,653 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 254 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Popoli Terme has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 1.5 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.9).

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 6.1% of the land in Popoli Terme, compared with 7.3% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.5 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Popoli Terme. 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 Popoli Terme: 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 Popoli Terme 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 Popoli Terme. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.5%
  • fair 99.5%

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 068033. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.