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Armento: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Armento

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 Francavilla 1, Armento.

Armento, the village of the gold crown in inland Basilicata

Archaeologists know the name Armento for the Greek gold crown found on its land in the early nineteenth century and now kept in Munich. Today it is a small village inland in the province of Potenza, perched on a height at about 700 metres, with stone houses strung along the ridge and farmland and woods all around.

You get here by car on hill and mountain roads, so a buyer needs to think about the daily trip to work, secondary schools and hospitals, which are in the larger towns of the area. Armento is in climate zone E and winters are noticeable.

The population has fallen sharply: 547 residents in 2023, 132 fewer than the 679 of 2011, a drop of 19.4%. The average age is 49.8, above the provincial 47.3, and over-65s make up 27.8%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Inland Basilicata is earthquake country. Armento is in seismic zone 2, like 59 of the 100 municipalities in the province, and the expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.189 g. For an old masonry house, have a surveyor tell you whether any structural work has been done, and what.

Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) are published here too, so the report traces the address to its land parcel. In a ridge-top village, slopes and landslide hazard should be checked on the exact plot, using the official maps the report consults.

Key points

  • Ridge-top village inland in the province of Potenza.
  • 547 residents, down 19.4% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.189 g.
  • Stone houses: ask what structural work has been carried out.

Overview

Armento is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 547 residents, among the smallest in the province (93 of 100).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Armento 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 (59 of 100) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.189 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Armento, 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 19.4%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (47). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 5.5% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Armento declared an average taxable income of 16,981 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Armento is in climate zone E, with 2,156 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 710 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Armento has 1 school and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 per 1,000 residents.

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 2.1% of the land in Armento, compared with 3.5% in the province and 3.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 Armento.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Armento: 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 Armento 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 6 inhabited census areas in Armento. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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 076005. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.