Putignano: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bari, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
Land sheet 6 free checks
Search for an address in Putignano
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 Estramurale a Levante 1, Putignano.
Putignano, carnival and caves on the Murgia of the trulli
In February Putignano fills up for its Carnival, one of the oldest in Italy, with papier-mâché floats parading through the centre. The rest of the year it is a small town on the south-eastern Murgia plateau, just under four hundred metres up, close to Alberobello and Castellana Grotte and linked to Bari by the trains of the Ferrovie del Sud Est.
You feel the altitude. The municipality is in climate zone D, with winters colder and damper than on the coast, so in older homes insulation, windows and heating matter, and the energy rating affects living costs more than in Bari. The old centre, compact and roughly circular, has stone houses with vaulted ceilings and internal stairs. Around it are districts of apartment blocks and, in the countryside, villas and trulli scattered among dry-stone walls.
The population is ageing. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 25,851 residents at the end of 2023, down 4.5% since 2011. The average age is 47.9 against 45.8 for the province, over-65s are 26.9% and foreign nationals 2.5%. Shops and eateries are denser than the provincial average: 0.97 supermarkets and 5.88 cafés and restaurants per 1,000 residents.
The ground is limestone riddled with cavities, as the Grotta del Trullo, a cave discovered in town, shows. Anyone building or extending should get a geological survey of the plot; anyone buying an existing house should have a surveyor look at any cracks or subsidence.
On seismic hazard, Putignano is in zone 3, like 33 other municipalities in the province, with a low expected ground acceleration of about 0.065 g. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastre covers the municipality, and the report finds the plot from the address, with the landslide and flood maps for that spot.
Key points
- Historic carnival, the Grotta del Trullo cave, FSE trains to Bari.
- Average age 47.9 against 45.8 for the province.
- 25,851 residents, down 4.5% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, low expected acceleration: 0.065 g.
Overview
Putignano is a municipality in the province of Bari, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 25,851 residents, ranked 13 of 41 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Putignano is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (34 of 41) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.065 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 4.5%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (46). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Putignano declared an average taxable income of 20,656 euros, below the provincial average (21,788 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Putignano is in climate zone D, with 1,716 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 372 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Putignano has 14 schools and 8 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 25 grocery shops and supermarkets, 19 healthcare facilities, 23 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 1.0 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).
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 10.8% of the land in Putignano, compared with 9.7% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.1 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Putignano 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 no contaminated sites in Putignano.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Putignano: 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 Putignano 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 95 inhabited census areas in Putignano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.0%
- fair 21.4%
- good 74.3%
- very good 4.3%
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.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Puglia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2025.
- 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 072036. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.