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Cersosimo: 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 Cersosimo

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 Progresso 1, Cersosimo.

Cersosimo, a Basilicata village towards the Pollino

Cersosimo is a hill village in the southern part of the province of Potenza, in the area of the Pollino massif, at around 550 metres. It is surrounded by woodland, pasture and steep slopes; towns with more services are reached by car along valley roads, and for much official business the nearest office is some way off.

The village has lost many residents in recent years. In 2023 there were 513, down 28.6% on the 718 recorded at the 2011 census by Istat, the national statistics office. The mean age is 53.8, against 47.3 in the province, and over-65s account for 35.1%, compared with 25.7%. Households are small, 1.69 people on average, and foreign residents are 1.9%.

Buyers here are often looking for a house to come back to in summer or a cottage in the countryside. In that case it matters how water, electricity and road access arrive, who maintains any private stretch of road, and what state the roof and walls are in after years of only occasional use.

Cersosimo is in seismic zone 2, like 59 of the 100 municipalities in the province, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.130 g. Before buying an old masonry house, have an engineer inspect the structure and floors. The climate zone is D, and declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps cover the municipality: the report finds the land parcel from the address and checks the official maps for landslide and flood hazard, which on hillside land has to be judged plot by plot.

Key points

  • Hill village towards the Pollino, around 550 metres.
  • 513 residents in 2023, down 28.6% since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 35.1%, against 25.7% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.130 g.

Overview

Cersosimo is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 513 residents, among the smallest in the province (95 of 100).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cersosimo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2d. 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 0.130 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Cersosimo, 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 28.6%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (47). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 1.9% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cersosimo declared an average taxable income of 18,778 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cersosimo is in climate zone D, with 1,905 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 548 metres above sea level.

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 1.3% of the land in Cersosimo, 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 Cersosimo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Cersosimo: 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 Cersosimo 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 9 inhabited census areas in Cersosimo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 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 076027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.