Vico del Gargano: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Foggia, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Vico del Gargano
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: Corso Re Umberto Primo 1, Vico del Gargano.
Vico del Gargano, the hill town and the San Menaio coast
On the northern side of the Gargano promontory in Puglia, Vico sits on a hill at around four hundred and fifty metres and runs down to the sea at San Menaio and the Calenella coast, between Rodi Garganico and Peschici. Behind it lies the Foresta Umbra, a large beech forest; in between are the citrus groves that produce Gargano oranges. The old town is a tangle of alleys and steps with houses built against one another.
There are two separate markets. In the old town you find historic houses over several floors, often in need of renovation and reached by narrow lanes, at low prices. On the coast, holiday flats and villas dominate, busy in summer and empty in winter. Tourism shows in the data: 81 places to eat are listed, 11.11 per 1,000 residents against 4.90 in the province of Foggia.
The resident population is shrinking. At the end of 2023 there were 7,290 people, 7.3% fewer than in 2011, a loss of 571, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The estimated average age is 46.1, against 45.2 in the province, and over-65s make up 24.9%. Foreign residents account for 3.2%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.
The Gargano is earthquake country. In the province 10 municipalities are in zone 1 and 51 in zone 2 on the Civil Protection scale; Vico is in zone 2, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.187 g in the built-up area. For a stone house in the old town, ask whether any strengthening has been done and check the floors and roof before negotiating.
The slopes of the promontory make it worth checking landslide hazard at the exact address, while on the coast the streams running down to the sea are the thing to look at. Cadastral maps are published and the report goes down to the land parcel.
Key points
- Hill town plus the San Menaio coast, between Rodi and Peschici.
- 81 places to eat, 11.11 per 1,000 residents.
- Population down 7.3% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.187 g.
Overview
Vico del Gargano is a municipality in the province of Foggia, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 7,290 residents, ranked 14 of 61 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Vico del Gargano 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 0.187 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Vico del Gargano, 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 7.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Vico del Gargano declared an average taxable income of 16,170 euros, below the provincial average (18,478 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Vico del Gargano is in climate zone D, with 1,974 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 445 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Vico del Gargano has 7 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 7 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.7 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 3.0% of the land in Vico del Gargano, compared with 4.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Vico del Gargano 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 contaminated sites in Vico del Gargano.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Vico del Gargano: 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 Vico del Gargano 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 40 inhabited census areas in Vico del Gargano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 84 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.5%
- fair 9.8%
- good 10.1%
- very good 79.5%
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 071059. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.