Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Colobraro: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Colobraro

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 1, Colobraro.

Colobraro, the village nobody names, above the Sinni valley

Some people in Basilicata still avoid saying the name Colobraro and call it "that village" instead, because of an old belief that linked it with bad luck. The town has chosen to laugh about it, and in summer it turns the legend into an event that brings visitors into the streets of the old centre. Colobraro sits on a hilltop at around 600 metres in the southern part of the province of Matera, looking over the Sinni valley, with the plain and the Ionian coast further down.

Homes for sale here are mostly of two kinds: stone houses in the old core, often on several levels and reached by steep lanes, and newer houses in the lower parts of the village. For the hospital, secondary schools and most shopping, people drive down to the larger towns of the valley and the coast, so a car is a daily need. Declared incomes are below the provincial average. The climate zone is D, milder than the mountains, but a stone house still needs proper heating and insulation.

In 2023 there were 1,055 residents, down 21.4% on 2011, or 287 fewer people. The average age is 50.9, against 46.3 for the province, and over-65s make up 32.3%, compared with 24.8% across the province. Households average 1.90 people, and foreign nationals account for 5.2%.

The province is split between two seismic zones in the classification of the Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile): 17 municipalities in zone 2 and 14 in zone 3. Colobraro belongs to the second group, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of 0.102 g. With an old masonry house, ask when it was built, whether any structural work has been done and what state the roof and floors are in.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, so the report goes from the address to the land parcel and checks slope and landslide hazard on the official maps for that exact spot.

Key points

  • The village "not to be named", on a hill above the Sinni valley.
  • Residents down 21.4% since 2011, over-65s at 32.3%.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.102 g.
  • Revenue Agency cadastral maps available.

Overview

Colobraro is a municipality in the province of Matera, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 1,055 residents, ranked 23 of 31 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Colobraro is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3a. Only 14 of 31 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.102 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 21.4%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (46). 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 5.2% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Colobraro declared an average taxable income of 16,786 euros, below the provincial average (19,958 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Colobraro is in climate zone D, with 2,006 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, Colobraro has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 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 1.8% of the land in Colobraro, compared with 2.7% in the province and 3.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 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 Colobraro.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Colobraro: 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 Colobraro 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 21 inhabited census areas in Colobraro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 94.6%
  • good 5.4%

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 077006. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.