Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Viterbo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Viterbo

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: Viale Fiume 1, Viterbo.

Viterbo, the city of the popes

In the thirteenth century Viterbo was home to the popes for several decades, and its papal palace hosted the longest conclave in history. The capital of the Tuscia area in northern Lazio, it keeps a large medieval centre built from peperino, the grey volcanic stone of the area, has thermal springs on the edge of town, and every 3 September carries the towering Macchina di Santa Rosa through its streets on the shoulders of its bearers.

Viterbo is growing: 66,188 residents at the end of 2023, 4.7% more than at the 2011 census, and 21.5% of the population of the province's 60 municipalities. The estimated average age is 46.5, below the provincial 47.5, and over-65s make up 24.2%. Foreign residents account for 10.5%.

Lazio's seismic classification uses finer sub-zones than the national scheme. Viterbo is in zone 2, with the regional code 2B; in the province 40 municipalities are in zone 2 and 20 in zone 3. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.137 g, a moderate value. For stone houses in the old centre and for blocks built before the latest standards, it is worth asking what structural work has been done.

Services are denser than in the rest of the province. Overture Maps data record 62 schools and education sites (0.94 per 1,000 residents against 0.91), 61 healthcare facilities and 103 sports facilities (1.56 against 0.99). Supermarkets are the exception, at 0.63 per 1,000 against 0.77. The Ministry of Health lists 20 pharmacies.

The land registry works as it does across most of Italy: the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) maps are public, and the report derives the sheet and parcel (foglio and particella) from the address. In volcanic country made of plateaus, gorges and farmland, landslide and flood hazard and the price range are checked at the precise spot.

Key points

  • Seat of the popes in the thirteenth century, capital of Tuscia.
  • Population up 4.7% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2 (regional sub-zone 2B); ground acceleration about 0.137 g.
  • More schools and sports facilities per resident than the province.

Overview

Viterbo is the capital of the province of Viterbo, in Lazio. At the end of 2023 it had 66,188 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 22% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Viterbo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2B. Most municipalities in the province (40 of 60) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.137 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Viterbo, 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 grown by 4.7%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 10.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Viterbo declared an average taxable income of 24,509 euros, above the provincial average (22,031 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Viterbo is in climate zone D, with 1,989 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 326 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Viterbo has 62 schools and 20 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 42 grocery shops and supermarkets, 61 healthcare facilities, 103 sports facilities and 16 parks and green areas.

There are 0.9 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).

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 6.3% of the land in Viterbo, compared with 4.7% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 20.8 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Viterbo, and 14 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 Viterbo: 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 Viterbo 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 1,020 inhabited census areas in Viterbo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 73 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.7%
  • fair 19.5%
  • good 68.6%
  • very good 11.1%

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 056059. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.