Santa Maria a Monte: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Pisa, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Santa Maria a Monte
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 Francesca 1, Santa Maria a Monte.
Santa Maria a Monte, a hilltop village above the Arno plain
The name tells you where the old village is: on a hill overlooking the Arno plain, its houses clustered around the church and the remains of the fortress. Santa Maria a Monte lies on the north bank of the river, between Pontedera, on the opposite bank, and the leather-district towns such as Castelfranco di Sotto.
Most residents, however, live lower down, in villages on the plain such as Montecalvoli and Ponticelli, which grew up beside the small business areas and the roads to Pontedera and Bientina. Buyers have to choose between two settings: in the old village, historic houses on steep lanes, with views and little room for a car; on the plain, detached and terraced houses and recent blocks of flats, handier for work and for Pontedera station.
The population is growing and young for Tuscany. There were 13,358 residents in 2023, up 4.0% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office; the estimated mean age is 45.0 against 46.9 for the province of Pisa, and over-65s are 21.6% against 25.3%. Households average 2.40 people and foreign residents are 8.5%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.
The difference between hill and plain matters for water too. The lower villages sit on the plain of the Arno and its canals, where flood hazard has to be checked house by house; on the hill, slopes and ground stability matter more. The report reads both from the official maps for the individual address.
The whole province of Pisa, 37 municipalities, is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification; here expected ground acceleration is about 0.119 g. In the old village, with masonry buildings centuries old, ask what structural work has been done. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps and the report finds the parcel.
Key points
- Hilltop village with newer settlements on the Arno plain.
- Population up 4.0%, over-65s at 21.6%.
- Arno plain: check flood hazard at the address.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.119 g.
Overview
Santa Maria a Monte is a municipality in the province of Pisa, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 13,358 residents, ranked 9 of 37 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Maria a Monte is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 37 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.119 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 grown by 4.0%. The estimated average age is 45 years, lower than the province average (47). 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 8.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Maria a Monte declared an average taxable income of 23,547 euros, below the provincial average (25,727 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santa Maria a Monte is in climate zone D, with 1,916 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 56 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Maria a Monte has 12 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 8 healthcare facilities and 10 sports facilities.
There are 0.6 healthcare facilities 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 11.4% of the land in Santa Maria a Monte, compared with 7.0% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.2 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Santa Maria a Monte 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 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 open contaminated sites in Santa Maria a Monte; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santa Maria a Monte: 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 Santa Maria a Monte 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 53 inhabited census areas in Santa Maria a Monte. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 61 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 87.7%
- good 12.3%
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 Toscana, 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 050035. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.