Mendicino: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Mendicino
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: Viale della Concordia 6, Mendicino.
Mendicino, a hill town on the edge of Cosenza
Mendicino borders Cosenza and Rende and is effectively part of the Cosenza urban area, yet its old centre is still a hill village, around five hundred metres up on the first slopes of the Catena Costiera, the coastal range that separates the Crati valley from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Over recent decades new housing has spread lower down, along the roads that descend towards the city, and the municipality now has two faces. The old village has stone houses, steep lanes and many buildings waiting to be restored; the residential areas closer to Cosenza have detached houses and small blocks of flats, with services a few minutes away. Buyers choose between the views and quiet of the upper village and the convenience of the lower districts.
At the end of 2023 there were 9,004 residents, down 2.5% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, a smaller fall than in many inland Calabrian towns. The population is younger than the province as a whole: an average age of 44.6 against 46.1, with 21.4% over 65 compared with 24.4%. Foreign residents are few, at 2.4%, and declared incomes are above the provincial average.
Earthquakes are the first question to ask about. Mendicino is in seismic zone 1, the highest in the Civil Protection classification, like 65 municipalities in the province of Cosenza, and expected ground acceleration is about 0.266 g, among the highest values in Italy. The year of design, the building codes applied, any assessments and any strengthening work come before everything else: a recent building to current standards is a very different proposition from an unreinforced stone house or a block from the 1960s.
On a hill of steep slopes and streams, landslides are the other concern. The report checks the official maps at the address, measures elevation and slope, and finds the plot on the cadastral maps published by the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate).
Key points
- Hill town on the coastal range, bordering Cosenza.
- Younger than the province: average age 44.6.
- Seismic zone 1, very high acceleration: about 0.266 g.
- Steep slopes: landslide risk checked per address.
Overview
Mendicino is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 9,004 residents, ranked 18 of 150 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mendicino is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Only 65 of 150 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.266 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Mendicino, 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 2.5%. The estimated average age is 45 years, lower than the province average (46). 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mendicino declared an average taxable income of 22,219 euros, above the provincial average (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Mendicino is in climate zone D, with 1,799 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 500 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mendicino has 7 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 1 healthcare facility, 2 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.1 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).
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 6.3% of the land in Mendicino, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% 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 open contaminated sites in Mendicino; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Mendicino: 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 Mendicino 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 61 inhabited census areas in Mendicino. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 5.7%
- fair 94.3%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 078079. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.