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Brancaleone: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Brancaleone

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 3, Brancaleone.

Brancaleone, Ionian coast and an old hilltop village

On the Ionian coast of Reggio Calabria province, Brancaleone is a seaside town crossed by the SS106, the road that runs the whole length of Calabria's Ionian shore. The present-day centre is on flat land near the beach, while on the hill behind it stand the ruins of the old village, gradually abandoned in favour of the coast. The writer Cesare Pavese was sent here in internal exile in the 1930s, something the town still remembers.

The housing market is tied to the sea. There are flats and villas used as holiday homes, homes of families living here all year and houses of people who emigrated to northern Italy or abroad. The climate is mild, climate zone B, with short winters. Anyone buying near the beach or the fiumare, the wide seasonal riverbeds typical of Calabria, should check the flood maps, which the report does for the address.

Istat, the Italian statistics office, counted 3,235 residents in 2023, down 10.7% since 2011. The average age is 48.5, higher than the provincial figure (45.2), with 29.6% over 65. Foreign residents make up 9.1%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The whole of Reggio Calabria province, 97 municipalities, is in seismic zone 1, the highest hazard class set by the Civil Protection Department. In Brancaleone the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.176 g. Even for a house by the sea, ask when it was built, whether the design followed earthquake standards and whether any work was done later.

Key points

  • Ionian coast town on the SS106, old village on the hill.
  • 3,235 residents, down 10.7% since 2011.
  • Whole province in seismic zone 1.
  • Expected acceleration 0.176 g, mild zone B climate.

Overview

Brancaleone is a municipality in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 3,235 residents, ranked 36 of 97 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Brancaleone is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. All 97 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.176 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Brancaleone, 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 10.7%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (45). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 9.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Brancaleone declared an average taxable income of 17,535 euros, below the provincial average (19,157 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Brancaleone is in climate zone B, with 770 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 December to 31 March, for up to 8 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 12 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Brancaleone has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets and 1 sports facility.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.5 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 4.8% of the land in Brancaleone, compared with 5.8% 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Brancaleone, and one more has 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 Brancaleone: 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 Brancaleone 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 41 inhabited census areas in Brancaleone. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 or more.

Residents by band

  • poor 0.5%
  • modest 13.0%
  • fair 86.5%

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 080014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.