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Brienza: 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 Brienza

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 Stazione 1, Brienza.

Brienza, a castle village between Potenza and the Val d'Agri

The castle of the Caracciolo family, partly in ruins, still towers over the old village of Brienza, which is built on a rocky spur of the Lucanian Apennines. The town lies in the mountainous interior south of Potenza, on the roads that lead down to the Val d'Agri, and the town hall stands at around 700 metres. Brienza is the birthplace of Francesco Mario Pagano, a jurist of the Neapolitan Enlightenment.

Buyers will notice the contrast straight away. Below the castle there are stone houses on several levels, reached by steps and narrow lanes; along the roads out of town there are newer buildings that are easier to reach by car. Potenza is where people go for work, hospital care and secondary schools. Average declared incomes are below the provincial average.

In 2023 there were 3,853 residents, down 5.6% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. Brienza is still slightly younger than the province: an average age of 46.4 against 47.3, with over-65s at 24.2%. Foreign residents make up 6.8%.

Earthquakes are the issue to take seriously. Brienza is in seismic zone 1, the highest in the national scale set by the Civil Protection Department, like 39 other municipalities in the province of Potenza, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.249 g. Before signing, ask what structural work has been done and under which permits, and have an engineer check the load-bearing walls and floors of any stone house. Climate zone E means long winters and a real heating bill.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the whole municipality, so the report can trace an address to its plot. The slopes around the village are steep, which is why gradient and landslide maps are read house by house.

Key points

  • Mountain village below its castle, south of Potenza towards the Val d'Agri.
  • 3,853 residents in 2023, down 5.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration about 0.249 g.
  • Old stone houses: have walls and floors checked before buying.

Overview

Brienza is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 3,853 residents, ranked 23 of 100 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Brienza is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 1a. Only 40 of 100 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.249 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Brienza, 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 5.6%. 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 6.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Brienza declared an average taxable income of 18,542 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Brienza is in climate zone E, with 2,206 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 713 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Brienza has 5 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 2 healthcare facilities and 2 sports facilities.

There are 0.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).

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 3.7% of the land in Brienza, compared with 3.5% in the province and 3.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land shrank by 0.7 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 no contaminated sites in Brienza.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Brienza: 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 Brienza 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 48 inhabited census areas in Brienza. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 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 076013. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.