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San Gimignano: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in San Gimignano

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 San Giovanni 1, San Gimignano.

San Gimignano, the towers, Vernaccia and the Valdelsa

The medieval towers of San Gimignano can be spotted from miles away, on top of a hill in the Valdelsa between Poggibonsi and Certaldo, in Tuscany. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and every year it receives a huge number of visitors compared with its population. All around, the Sienese countryside is made up of Vernaccia vineyards, olive groves, woods and scattered farms, with small hamlets and old farmhouses.

Buying inside the walls is a special case. There are few properties, often listed, and work on them needs approval from the Soprintendenza, the heritage authority; cars stay outside, in car parks on the edge of the centre; and many homes have become holiday lets or shops. Anyone looking for a year-round home more often finds it in the hamlets or in the newer areas at the foot of the hill, while farmhouses and estates in the countryside also attract foreign buyers, with high prices and significant upkeep. Tourism shows in the figures: 114 bars and restaurants, 15.25 per 1,000 residents against 7.48 in the province. For trains, you go to Poggibonsi or Certaldo.

At the end of 2023 there were 7,476 residents, down 2.6% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 47.8, in line with 47.6 for the province of Siena, over-65s make up 26.2% and foreign residents 9.0%. Households average 2.30 people.

In the province of Siena, 4 municipalities, towards Monte Amiata, are in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's scale; San Gimignano is one of the 31 in zone 3, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.141 g. For a medieval building or a stone farmhouse, have the structure assessed by a surveyor: masonry, vaults, timber floors and roofs have often been altered over the centuries.

On the clay hills of the Valdelsa, slow-moving landslides are common and should be checked for the plot. The report does this starting from the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), which cover the whole municipality.

Key points

  • Medieval towers and a UNESCO centre on a Valdelsa hilltop.
  • 15.25 bars and restaurants per 1,000 residents against 7.48 in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.141 g.
  • Listed buildings inside the walls, cars kept outside.

Overview

San Gimignano is a municipality in the province of Siena, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 7,476 residents, ranked 11 of 35 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, San Gimignano is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (31 of 35) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.141 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 2.6%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in San Gimignano declared an average taxable income of 24,234 euros, in line with the province (25,404 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

San Gimignano is in climate zone D, with 2,085 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 324 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, San Gimignano has 8 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 3 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 0.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer 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 3.7% of the land in San Gimignano, compared with 4.0% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

San Gimignano is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in San Gimignano, 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 San Gimignano: 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 San Gimignano 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 63 inhabited census areas in San Gimignano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.9%
  • fair 72.8%
  • good 26.3%

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

ISTAT code 052028. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.