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Jelsi: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Jelsi

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 Vittorio Emanuele Secondo 1, Jelsi.

Jelsi, Molise hills and the wheat festival

Jelsi is a village in the hills of central Molise, in the province of Campobasso, south of the provincial capital, at around 580 metres. It is a farming community surrounded by wheat fields and pastures, and every summer, for the feast of Saint Anne, the village parades carts decorated with grains and ears of wheat, a tradition that draws visitors from outside.

The property market is like that of many Molise villages: stone houses in the centre, often large and on several floors, which come up for sale when families move away, plus a few country houses. Campobasso is the reference for work, hospital and secondary schools, reached by car on hill roads. The climate is zone E, with cold winters, and declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 1,590 residents in 2023, down 11.5% since 2011, with an average age of 48.1 (47.6 in the province) and 28.2% aged over 65. Foreign residents make up 4.8%.

Molise is an earthquake region, and Jelsi is in seismic zone 2, like 63 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.204 g. For an old stone house, ask whether seismic improvement work has been done, for example after the 2002 earthquake, and under what project.

On Molise's clay hills slopes can shift, so the report checks the gradient and the official landslide maps at the address. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps are published.

Key points

  • Hills of central Molise, south of Campobasso.
  • Stone houses in the centre, cold winters.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.204 g.
  • Population down 11.5% since 2011.

Overview

Jelsi is a municipality in the province of Campobasso, in Molise. At the end of 2023 it had 1,590 residents, ranked 26 of 84 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Jelsi is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (64 of 84) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.204 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Jelsi, 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 11.5%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 4.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Jelsi declared an average taxable income of 15,351 euros, below the provincial average (19,995 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Jelsi is in climate zone E, with 2,102 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 580 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Jelsi 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 4.2% of the land in Jelsi, compared with 4.3% in the province and 4.0% 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 Jelsi.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Jelsi: 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 Jelsi 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 18 inhabited census areas in Jelsi. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 46.3%
  • good 53.7%

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 070030. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.