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San Marcello Piteglio: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in San Marcello Piteglio

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 Provinciale Mammianese Marlianese 1, San Marcello Piteglio.

San Marcello Piteglio, villages of the Pistoia mountains

San Marcello Piteglio was formed in 2017 by merging the old municipalities of San Marcello Pistoiese and Piteglio, in the Apennines north of Pistoia in Tuscany. It is really a scatter of villages among chestnut and beech woods: San Marcello with the shops and offices, Maresca and Gavinana higher up, Campo Tizzoro with its industrial past in metalworking, and Popiglio and Piteglio towards the Lima valley. The road climbing from Pistoia carries on to Abetone, the local ski resort.

When buying here, the choice of village matters almost as much as the house itself. The larger centres have flats in small blocks and stone village houses; in the outlying hamlets many homes are second homes, opened in summer by people escaping the heat of the plain. Living here all year means long winters, snow on the higher roads, heating on for many months and a mountain road down to Pistoia.

The population is clearly shrinking. At the end of 2023 there were 7,585 residents against 8,469 in 2011, down 10.4%, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 52.7, well above 47.5 for the province, and over-65s make up 35.5% against 26.3%. Households are small, 1.93 people on average, and declared incomes are below the provincial average. With so many villages to serve, schools are still plentiful: 1.58 per 1,000 residents against 0.79 in the province.

Earthquake hazard is higher than on the plain. The municipality is in seismic zone 2 of the scale used by the Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile), together with 5 other municipalities in the province of Pistoia, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.196 g. Many houses are old stone buildings with timber floors, so before buying have a surveyor check how walls and floors are tied together, the roof, and any strengthening already carried out.

On steep slopes and along the streams, ground stability changes from one plot to the next. The report checks landslide and flood hazard for the exact address, starting from the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), which cover the whole municipality.

Key points

  • Mountain villages between Pistoia and Abetone, one municipality since 2017.
  • Residents down 10.4% since 2011.
  • Average age 52.7, against 47.5 in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.196 g.

Overview

San Marcello Piteglio is a municipality in the province of Pistoia, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 7,585 residents, ranked 13 of 20 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, San Marcello Piteglio is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 6 of 20 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.196 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in San Marcello Piteglio, 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 10.4%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (48). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 7.8% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in San Marcello Piteglio declared an average taxable income of 21,551 euros, below the provincial average (23,480 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

San Marcello Piteglio is in climate zone E, with 2,933 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 698 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, San Marcello Piteglio has 12 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 9 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 1.6 schools per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.8).

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 4.0% of the land in San Marcello Piteglio, compared with 10.3% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

San Marcello Piteglio 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 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in San Marcello Piteglio, and 7 more have 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 Marcello Piteglio: 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 Marcello Piteglio 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 148 inhabited census areas in San Marcello Piteglio. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 2.8%
  • fair 97.2%

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 047024. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.