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Taranto: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Taranto

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 Cesare Battisti 1, Taranto.

Taranto, the city of two seas

Taranto faces two seas: the Mar Grande, open to the gulf, and the Mar Piccolo, an inner basin. They are separated by the island of the old town and linked by a navigable channel spanned by a swing bridge. Founded by the Spartans, Taranto was one of the most important cities of Magna Graecia, as its National Archaeological Museum shows. In the twentieth century the economy grew around the Italian Navy's arsenal, the port and the large steelworks.

Resident numbers are falling. At the end of 2023 there were 187,025, 6.6% fewer than at the 2011 census, making up 33.8% of the province. The estimated average age is 47.1, and over-65s account for 26.2%, above the Puglia average of 24.2%. Foreign residents are just 2.8% of the population.

Seismic hazard: most of the province is in zone 4, the lowest class (19 of 29 municipalities), while Taranto is one of the 10 in zone 3. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.076 g, a moderate value. For buyers, asking about the building still makes sense, especially for older properties: the design date and the condition of the structure.

On services, Overture Maps data show less recorded green space than in the province (0.05 per 1,000 residents against 0.14) and fewer supermarkets (0.43 against 0.62). The Ministry of Health lists 60 pharmacies, 0.32 per 1,000 residents, just below the provincial average. There are 121 healthcare facilities on record.

The report can trace the sheet and parcel (foglio and particella) from an address, because the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes Taranto's cadastral maps. Between the two seas, the old town on its island and the districts stretching across the mainland, flood hazard and the local price range vary widely and are checked address by address.

Key points

  • City of two seas, founded by the Spartans.
  • Population down 6.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3; 19 of the province's 29 municipalities are in zone 4.
  • Little recorded green space per resident.

Overview

Taranto is the capital of the province of Taranto, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 187,025 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 34% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Taranto is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 10 of 29 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.076 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 6.6%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Taranto declared an average taxable income of 23,248 euros, above the provincial average (20,557 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Taranto is in climate zone C, with 1,071 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 15 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Taranto has 120 schools and 60 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 80 grocery shops and supermarkets, 121 healthcare facilities, 123 sports facilities and 10 parks and green areas.

There are 0.4 grocery shops and supermarkets 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 21.6% of the land in Taranto, compared with 9.6% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 25.2 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Taranto 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 15 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Taranto, and 10 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 Taranto: 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 Taranto 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 928 inhabited census areas in Taranto. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.5%
  • fair 20.2%
  • good 78.3%

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 073027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.