Montesano sulla Marcellana: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Santa Maria di Loreto 0, Montesano sulla Marcellana.
Montesano sulla Marcellana, hill town and valley station
The Vallo di Diano is a broad plain enclosed by mountains in the south of the province of Salerno, crossed by the river Tanagro and by the A2 motorway, which links it to Salerno on one side and Calabria on the other. The valley's best-known monument is the Certosa di Padula, a vast Carthusian monastery. Montesano sulla Marcellana covers the southern end of the valley, near the border with Basilicata.
The municipality has two faces. The historic town clings to a hill at about eight hundred and fifty metres, with stone houses, stepped lanes and alleys; below, on the plain, lies Montesano Scalo, which grew around the station of the old railway through the valley, now closed. The Scalo has the newer houses and most of the shops.
In the upper town there are empty or run-down houses at low prices, left behind by decades of emigration. Before falling for a stone house, think about the altitude and its long winters, the steep streets and the cost of redoing the roof and the wiring and plumbing. The report checks the official landslide maps for the address, which matter on the slopes, and the flood maps on the plain.
Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 6,240 residents in 2023, down 8.0% on 2011. People over 65 make up 25.2%, against 22.7% in the province and 20.9% in Campania, and foreign residents 4.0%. Average incomes are low even by provincial standards.
Montesano is one of 18 municipalities in the province of Salerno in seismic zone 1, the highest level on the Civil Protection scale, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.238 g. For an old masonry house, structural strengthening can cost as much as the purchase: have an engineer estimate it before you decide, and look into the tax incentives for seismic upgrades.
Key points
- Stone hill town and the Scalo district on the valley floor.
- Population down 8.0% since 2011, over-65s at 25.2%.
- One of 18 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 1.
- Expected acceleration about 0.238 g: get strengthening costed.
Overview
Montesano sulla Marcellana is a municipality in the province of Salerno, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 6,240 residents, ranked 41 of 158 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Montesano sulla Marcellana is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Only 18 of 158 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.238 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Montesano sulla Marcellana, 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 8.0%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 4.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Montesano sulla Marcellana declared an average taxable income of 16,400 euros, below the provincial average (19,912 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Montesano sulla Marcellana is in climate zone E, with 2,259 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 850 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Montesano sulla Marcellana has 8 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 3 sports facilities.
There are 0.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).
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 5.0% of the land in Montesano sulla Marcellana, compared with 8.0% in the province and 10.6% 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 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 no open contaminated sites in Montesano sulla Marcellana; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Montesano sulla Marcellana: 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 Montesano sulla Marcellana 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 68 inhabited census areas in Montesano sulla Marcellana. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 52 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 14.5%
- fair 85.5%
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 065076. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.