Porto Recanati: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Macerata, Marche. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Giacomo Matteotti 2, Porto Recanati.
Porto Recanati, the coast south of Conero and the Potenza
Porto Recanati covers the stretch of Marche coast just south of Monte Conero, where the river Potenza meets the Adriatic. Recanati, the hill town where the poet Leopardi was born, lies inland, and Loreto with its famous shrine is a few minutes away. The centre keeps the layout of the old fishing village, with houses lined up behind the beach and the Swabian castle near the main square.
In summer the numbers swell: many homes near the beach are second homes or holiday lets, while newer districts further inland are lived in all year. For getting about there is a station on the Adriatic railway and the Loreto-Porto Recanati junction on the A14 motorway, both taking you quickly to Ancona or south to Civitanova Marche.
The population is growing. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 12,466 residents in 2023, up 8.4% on 2011. It is also younger than the province of Macerata, with an average age of 44.7 against 47.2 and over-65s at 21.4% against 26.5%. Foreign nationals make up 16.9%, a high share for the Marche. There are 147 cafés and restaurants on record, a sign of a town that lives on tourism.
The town is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 49 of the 55 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.180 g. The 2016 earthquakes in the Macerata hinterland caused damage well away from the epicentre, so for a seafront block built during the tourist boom it is worth asking whether the structure has been surveyed.
Two things matter at the address: distance from the Potenza, which flows along the southern edge of the municipality, and distance from the sea. The report checks the official flood maps at the exact spot and finds the land parcel on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.
Key points
- Adriatic railway station and the Loreto-Porto Recanati A14 junction.
- Residents up 8.4% since 2011, foreign nationals 16.9%.
- Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.180 g.
- Many second homes by the beach, year-round districts inland.
Overview
Porto Recanati is a municipality in the province of Macerata, in Marche. At the end of 2023 it had 12,466 residents, ranked 7 of 55 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Porto Recanati is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (49 of 55) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.180 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Porto Recanati, 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 grown by 8.4%. The estimated average age is 45 years, lower than the province average (47). 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 16.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Porto Recanati declared an average taxable income of 23,758 euros, in line with the province (23,312 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Porto Recanati is in climate zone D, with 1,647 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 6 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Porto Recanati has 4 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 7 grocery shops and supermarkets, 8 healthcare facilities, 16 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.3 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (1.0).
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 18.9% of the land in Porto Recanati, compared with 5.7% in the province and 7.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Official databases list 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Porto Recanati, 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 Porto Recanati: 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 Porto Recanati 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 58 inhabited census areas in Porto Recanati. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 7.1%
- fair 85.4%
- good 7.5%
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
- 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 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 043042. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.