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Caraffa di Catanzaro: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Caraffa di Catanzaro

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 Cristoforo Colombo 1, Caraffa di Catanzaro.

Caraffa di Catanzaro, an Arbëreshë village near the regional capital

Caraffa di Catanzaro is a hill village west of Catanzaro, on the isthmus that separates the Ionian Sea from the Tyrrhenian. It is an Arbëreshë community, descended from Albanians who settled in Calabria centuries ago, and the village keeps its traditions and, in part, the language. The centre stands on a rise among olive groves and fields, with the plain and the coast not far away.

Closeness to the regional capital is the key practical point: Catanzaro, with its offices, university and hospital, is a short drive away, and Lamezia, with its airport and railway station, is also within reach. Buyers find houses in the old core, often needing work, and newer homes on the edges. Incomes are below the provincial average.

Istat, the national statistics office, records 1,702 residents in 2023, down 13.2% on 2011. The average age is 47.6 against 46.1 in the province, over-65s are 25.9% and foreign residents 3.5%. Households have 2.17 members on average.

Central Calabria has high seismic hazard: in the province of Catanzaro 45 municipalities are in zone 1 and 35 in zone 2. Caraffa is in zone 1, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of 0.261 g. Buyers should always ask for the structural design or, for older houses, an engineer's assessment.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps cover the municipality. The report finds the plot from the address and reads slope and the official landslide and flood maps for that point.

Key points

  • Arbëreshë village west of Catanzaro, on the Calabrian isthmus.
  • Residents down 13.2% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration 0.261 g.
  • Older houses: an engineer's assessment is advisable.

Overview

Caraffa di Catanzaro is a municipality in the province of Catanzaro, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 1,702 residents, ranked 43 of 80 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Caraffa di Catanzaro is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (45 of 80) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.261 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Caraffa di Catanzaro, 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 13.2%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Caraffa di Catanzaro declared an average taxable income of 17,173 euros, below the provincial average (19,667 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Caraffa di Catanzaro is in climate zone D, with 1,409 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 358 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Caraffa di Catanzaro has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 6.0% of the land in Caraffa di Catanzaro, compared with 6.6% 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 no open contaminated sites in Caraffa di Catanzaro; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Caraffa di Catanzaro: 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 Caraffa di Catanzaro 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 8 inhabited census areas in Caraffa di Catanzaro. 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 079017. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.