Montalto Uffugo: 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 Montalto Uffugo
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 Giuseppe Verdi 1, Montalto Uffugo.
Montalto Uffugo, a hill town above the Crati valley
Unlike many towns in Calabria, Montalto Uffugo is gaining residents, and location is the reason. The old village stands on a hillside at a little over four hundred metres, facing the Crati valley; lower down, newer hamlets and districts have grown up close to Rende, Cosenza and the campus of the University of Calabria.
For buyers, the two halves of the municipality are very different. The old centre has masonry houses on steep streets, often needing work; the valley areas have recent blocks of flats and detached houses, closer to shops, to the Cosenza urban area and to the A2 motorway. People working in the city or at the university often look for homes here.
The numbers confirm it. Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 20,111 residents in 2023, up 10.7% since 2011, making Montalto one of the most populous towns in the province. The average age is 41.7 against 46.1 for the province of Cosenza, only 17.0% of residents are over 65, and foreign residents make up 3.8%.
Earthquakes are the most important factor. The Crati valley is one of the most seismic areas in Italy. Montalto is in zone 1, the highest level in the national classification by the Civil Protection Department, like 64 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.269 g, a high value. Buyers should ask for the construction date, the structural design and the final inspection certificate (collaudo); for older houses, whether any seismic upgrading has been carried out. Even with a new building it is worth having an engineer confirm that the seismic rules were actually followed.
Landslides also matter on the hillsides. The report measures the slope of the ground, checks the official hazard maps for the address and finds the plot on the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.
Key points
- Hill town above the Crati valley, near Rende and the university.
- Population up 10.7% since 2011.
- Average age 41.7, over-65s at 17.0%.
- Seismic zone 1, high expected acceleration: about 0.269 g.
Overview
Montalto Uffugo is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 20,111 residents, among the most populous in the province (5 of 150).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Montalto Uffugo 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 0.269 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Montalto Uffugo, 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 grown by 10.7%. The estimated average age is 42 years, lower than the province average (46). 17% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Montalto Uffugo declared an average taxable income of 18,811 euros, in line with the province (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Montalto Uffugo is in climate zone D, with 1,691 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 430 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Montalto Uffugo has 24 schools and 6 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 18 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities, 16 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).
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 8.2% of the land in Montalto Uffugo, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.9 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Montalto Uffugo, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Montalto Uffugo: 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 Montalto Uffugo 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 103 inhabited census areas in Montalto Uffugo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 13.6%
- fair 86.4%
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
- 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 078081. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.