Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Bernalda: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Bernalda

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 Umberto Primo 1, Bernalda.

Bernalda, the town above the Metaponto plain

Bernalda stands on the edge of the Metaponto plain, the flat strip where Basilicata meets the Ionian Sea between the Basento and Bradano rivers. The town, on a terrace just over a hundred metres up, keeps its old centre with a castle and low houses. Down on the plain the municipality includes Metaponto, with its railway station, its beach and the archaeological site of the Greek colony, where the columns of the Tavole Palatine temple still stand. Francis Ford Coppola's grandfather emigrated from Bernalda, and the director has restored a palazzo in the town.

The economy rests on the farming of the plain, with orchards, citrus groves and vegetables, and on summer tourism at the beach. In town, buyers find flats and detached houses at modest prices, while Metaponto Lido is mostly holiday homes. Metaponto station is a junction where the Ionian line from Taranto towards Calabria meets the line that climbs the Basento valley to Potenza. Matera, the provincial capital, is reached by car.

With 11,912 residents in 2023, down 2.9% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics institute, Bernalda ranks 4 in the province by population. The estimated average age is 45.8, over-65s are 24.2% and foreign residents 9.0%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The province of Matera is split between seismic zones 2 and 3. Bernalda is in zone 3, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.098 g. For masonry houses in the centre, the condition of walls and roofs matters most; for those on the plain, the quality of foundations laid on river sediments.

Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) are published. The Basento and the Bradano cross the plain and have flooded it in the past, so near the rivers and drainage channels the report checks the official flood maps for the specific address.

Key points

  • Metaponto, with station, beach and Greek ruins, is part of the municipality.
  • Foreign residents 9.0%, population falling since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.098 g.
  • Basento and Bradano plain: check flood hazard by address.

Overview

Bernalda is a municipality in the province of Matera, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 11,912 residents, among the most populous in the province (4 of 31).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bernalda is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3a. Only 14 of 31 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.098 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 2.9%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 9.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bernalda declared an average taxable income of 17,544 euros, below the provincial average (19,958 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bernalda is in climate zone C, with 1,366 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 127 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bernalda has 10 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities, 14 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 0.6 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).

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 4.0% of the land in Bernalda, compared with 2.7% in the province and 3.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.6 hectares.

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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Bernalda, and 4 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 Bernalda: 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 Bernalda 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 81 inhabited census areas in Bernalda. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 84 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.1%
  • fair 13.8%
  • good 20.0%
  • very good 66.1%

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 077003. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.