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Calvera: 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 Calvera

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 Giovanni Bovio 1, Calvera.

Calvera, a hill village in southern Basilicata

In southern Basilicata, between the Sinni valley and the hills rising towards the Pollino massif, Calvera is a hill village above six hundred metres, with a compact centre and countryside of woods, olive groves and pasture around it. The main services are in the larger valley towns such as Senise, and for hospitals and offices you should expect long drives on hill roads.

Houses are mostly masonry village buildings, some renovated and others in need of work. What matters to a buyer is the roof, damp in the walls and the quality of any work already done. The clay soils of these hills can shift, so the report reads the official landslide maps at the exact address, and that is the first figure to look at.

The population has fallen sharply. In 2023 there were 355 residents, 75 fewer than the 430 of 2011, a drop of 17.4% according to Istat, the national statistics office. The estimated average age is 54.2, against 47.3 in the province of Potenza, and over-65s make up 38.6%, against 25.7%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The municipality is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection scale, like 58 other municipalities in the province, while 40 are in zone 1. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.183 g, which should not be underestimated. Before buying a masonry house, ask a surveyor how walls, floors and roof are tied together and what improving them would cost.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for Calvera, so the report goes from the address to the land parcel.

Key points

  • Hill village in southern Basilicata, towards the Pollino.
  • Clay soils: check landslide hazard first.
  • Over-65s at 38.6%, against 25.7% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.183 g.

Overview

Calvera is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 355 residents, among the smallest in the province (99 of 100).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Calvera 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 0.183 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Calvera, 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 17.4%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (47). 39% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 1.7% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Calvera declared an average taxable income of 14,908 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Calvera is in climate zone D, with 2,055 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 630 metres above sea level.

Services

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

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.3 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 2.5% of the land in Calvera, 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 Calvera.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Calvera: 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 Calvera 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 5 inhabited census areas in Calvera. 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 076016. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.