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Belsito: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Belsito

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 Panoramica 1, Belsito.

Belsito, a hill village in the Savuto valley

In the Savuto valley, south of Cosenza, villages sit on the hills and the first ridges that rise towards the Sila and the coastal range. Belsito is one of them: a small place at about 660 metres, with a compact old core and newer houses strung out along the access roads. For work, university and hospital, people look to the urban area of Cosenza and Rende.

The climate is that of the inland hills, zone E, with cold winters. In the historic centre buyers often find masonry houses over several floors, with narrow stairs and little outdoor space; homes built from the 1970s onwards are mostly reinforced concrete. Either way the key question is the structure, for the reason explained below.

In 2023 Belsito had 900 residents, down 6.1% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics institute. The estimated average age is 47.0, close to the provincial 46.1, and over-65s are 24.0%, about the same as the provincial 24.4%. Foreign residents are 5.9% and households average 2.42 people. Declared incomes are below the average for the province of Cosenza.

This is one of the parts of Italy where earthquakes matter most. The Civil Protection department places Belsito in seismic zone 1, the highest, together with 64 other municipalities in the province, and the expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.273 g. Before buying, ask for the construction date, the structural design filed with the authorities and any upgrading work, and have an engineer read them. The Italian seismic tax credit (sismabonus) can help fund the work, within the rules in force at the time.

Landslide hazard on the slopes is checked address by address against the official maps the report consults. The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Hill village in the Savuto valley, at about 660 metres.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration about 0.273 g.
  • 900 residents, down 6.1% since 2011.
  • Before buying: structural design and upgrading work.

Overview

Belsito is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 900 residents, ranked 127 of 150 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Belsito is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Only 65 of 150 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.273 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Belsito, 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 6.1%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 5.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Belsito declared an average taxable income of 15,909 euros, below the provincial average (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Belsito is in climate zone E, with 2,122 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 660 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Belsito has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility and 1 sports facility.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 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 5.6% of the land in Belsito, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% 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 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 no open contaminated sites in Belsito; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Belsito: 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 Belsito 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 16 inhabited census areas in Belsito. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 55 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 26.1%
  • fair 73.9%

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 078014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.