Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Bergamo, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII
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 Bergamo 1, Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII.
Sotto il Monte, birthplace of Pope John XXIII
The name says a lot: Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII is the village where Angelo Roncalli, Pope John XXIII, was born, and it carries his name alongside the old one. His birthplace and the places linked to his life draw pilgrims and visitors from all over Italy. The village lies in the Isola bergamasca, the plain between the Adda and Brembo rivers, at the foot of Monte Canto, the hill that gives it its name ("below the mountain").
For buyers, Sotto il Monte is a quiet residential municipality, with detached and terraced houses and small blocks of flats, and a wooded hillside behind. Bergamo is around twenty kilometres away and the area has good road links towards Lecco and Milan. The data lists 23 services, enough for daily needs; for everything else people use the larger towns of the Isola.
There are 4,372 residents, up 1.9% since 2011. The average age is 44.4, below the province (45.2), and over-65s make up 19.9%. Foreign residents are few, 3.2%. Declared incomes are above the provincial average.
On the busiest pilgrimage days, the streets near the sites linked to John XXIII get traffic and full car parks: if you are buying in the centre, bear that in mind, along with the chance of letting rooms to visitors.
On earthquakes the Bergamo area is uniform: all 243 municipalities are in seismic zone 3, and the expected ground acceleration here is about 0.080 g. On the slopes of Monte Canto the report measures the gradient and reads the landslide maps for the address. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps are published.
Key points
- Birthplace of Pope John XXIII, at the foot of Monte Canto.
- 4,372 residents, up 1.9% since 2011.
- Incomes above average; over-65s at 19.9%.
- Seismic zone 3, like the whole province of Bergamo.
Overview
Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII is a municipality in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 4,372 residents, ranked 91 of 243 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 243 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.080 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 1.9%. The estimated average age is 44 years, in line with the province. 20% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII declared an average taxable income of 28,022 euros, in line with the province (26,939 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII is in climate zone E, with 2,503 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 305 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 1 healthcare facility and 1 sports facility.
There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.5).
Public transport
The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 18.7% of the land in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, compared with 12.0% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. 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 Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII: 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 Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII 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 30 inhabited census areas in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 61.2%
- good 38.8%
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.
- Public transport timetables (GTFS): Trenord, Regione Lombardia - Trenord, orari ferroviari (GTFS). Licence CC BY 4.0, version 20261111.
- 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 Lombardia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Lombardia. Licence CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio), updated to 15 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 016203. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.