San Giovanni Rotondo: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Foggia, 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 San Giovanni Rotondo
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 Aldo Moro 1, San Giovanni Rotondo.
San Giovanni Rotondo, Padre Pio and the hospital on the Gargano
At almost six hundred metres on the Gargano promontory, San Giovanni Rotondo owes its growth to Padre Pio, the Capuchin friar who spent most of his life here and is now a saint. The friary, the shrine and the churches built for pilgrims draw a very large number of visitors every year, and the town has hotels, shops and services geared to them.
The other big presence is Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, the hospital founded at Padre Pio's wish, now one of the leading hospitals in southern Italy and the town's largest employer. That matters for buyers: doctors, nurses and patients' families look for homes near the hospital, and declared incomes are above the average for the province of Foggia.
The market divides into the old centre, with older houses and steep streets, the area around the shrine, where many properties are guest houses and hotels, and the newer residential districts. Winters at this altitude are cool (climate zone D) and it is often windy, so insulation and windows need checking.
There were 26,314 residents in 2023, down 3.7% on 2011. The estimated average age is 44.6, against 45.2 in the province, and foreign nationals make up 4.8%.
The Gargano is seismically active. San Giovanni Rotondo is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection scale, with expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.206 g, and 10 municipalities in the province are in zone 1. For buildings put up quickly as pilgrim numbers grew, ask for the structural design and any upgrades. The report checks landslide and flood maps for the address and uses the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.
Key points
- Padre Pio's pilgrimage town, on the Gargano promontory.
- Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, a major hospital in town.
- Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.206 g.
- Population down 3.7% since 2011.
Overview
San Giovanni Rotondo is a municipality in the province of Foggia, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 26,314 residents, among the most populous in the province (6 of 61).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, San Giovanni Rotondo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (51 of 61) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.206 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in San Giovanni Rotondo, 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 3.7%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 4.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in San Giovanni Rotondo declared an average taxable income of 21,874 euros, above the provincial average (18,478 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
San Giovanni Rotondo is in climate zone D, with 2,004 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 566 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, San Giovanni Rotondo has 19 schools and 8 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 18 grocery shops and supermarkets, 22 healthcare facilities, 13 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.
There are 0.8 healthcare facilities 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 4.6% of the land in San Giovanni Rotondo, compared with 4.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
San Giovanni Rotondo 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 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 no open contaminated sites in San Giovanni Rotondo; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within San Giovanni Rotondo: 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 Giovanni Rotondo 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 97 inhabited census areas in San Giovanni Rotondo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- poor 0.0%
- modest 1.0%
- fair 6.1%
- good 92.8%
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 071046. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.