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Villa Santa Maria: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Villa Santa Maria

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 Duca degli Abruzzi 1, Villa Santa Maria.

Villa Santa Maria, the cooks' village on the Sangro

Villa Santa Maria is the birthplace of Saint Francis Caracciolo, whom the Church named patron saint of Italian cooks, and the village has built a real tradition on that link: for generations, cooks from here have gone on to work all over Italy and abroad, and the village has a catering and hospitality school. It lies in the middle Sangro valley, in the province of Chieti, at about 300 metres, with houses packed beneath rock faces and the river just below.

For buyers, the old centre is made up of tall houses built against each other, often reached on foot or along narrow lanes, while newer homes line the road on the valley floor. For larger services people head down towards the coast. The climate zone is D, and declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The population has fallen sharply: 1,111 residents in 2023, 22.5% fewer than in 2011 (322 people). The average age is 50.6 against 47.4 for the province, and over-65s make up 31.5%. Foreign nationals are 3.3%.

The municipality is in seismic zone 2, like 54 other municipalities in the province of Chieti, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.152 g. In the masonry houses of the centre, built wall to wall, structural work often involves several owners at once, so ask whether any work has been done or is planned with the neighbours.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, and the report reaches the land parcel from the address. Conditions differ between the houses under the rock and those near the Sangro, and the report reads the official landslide and flood maps for the individual address.

Key points

  • Birthplace of Saint Francis Caracciolo, patron saint of cooks.
  • Residents down 22.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.152 g.
  • Over-65s at 31.5%, average age 50.6.

Overview

Villa Santa Maria is a municipality in the province of Chieti, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 1,111 residents, ranked 54 of 104 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Villa Santa Maria is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (55 of 104) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.152 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Villa Santa Maria, 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 22.5%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (47). 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 3.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Villa Santa Maria declared an average taxable income of 18,479 euros, below the provincial average (21,427 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Villa Santa Maria is in climate zone D, with 1,676 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 320 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Villa Santa Maria has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 2 sports facilities.

There are 2.7 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).

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 5.0% of the land in Villa Santa Maria, compared with 6.4% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Villa Santa Maria.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Villa Santa Maria: 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 Villa Santa Maria 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 18 inhabited census areas in Villa Santa Maria. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 2.8%
  • fair 28.2%
  • good 69.0%

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 069102. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.