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Padula: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Padula

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 Nazionale 0, Padula.

Padula, the Certosa and the Vallo di Diano

Padula looks down on the Vallo di Diano, a long upland valley in southern Campania. The town sits on a hill at around 700 metres, and below it, towards the plain of the Tanagro river, stands the Certosa di San Lorenzo, one of the largest monastic complexes in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Cilento National Park. Joe Petrosino, the Italian-American police detective, was born here, and his house is now a museum.

Buyers are choosing between two quite different settings. The old centre has steep lanes, stone houses built against each other and little room for a car. The lower part of town, towards the Certosa and the plain, is newer and easier to live in. The Autostrada del Mediterraneo motorway runs through the valley and has an exit for Padula, which helps if you work in Sala Consilina or further away.

The population is shrinking, as in much of inland Campania. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 4,872 residents in 2023, down 7.7% on 2011. The average age is 47.0, against 45.2 in the province of Salerno, and 25.1% of residents are over 65. Declared incomes are below the provincial average, and winters are cool (climate zone D).

Earthquakes are the point not to overlook. Padula is in seismic zone 1, the highest class set by the Civil Protection Department, like 17 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.226 g. For a stone house in the old centre, ask for the construction date, any work done after the 1980 earthquake and a structural survey before signing.

At the exact address the report checks slope, landslide hazard on the hillside and flooding on the plain, and uses the Revenue Agency maps to find the cadastral parcel.

Key points

  • Hill town above the Vallo di Diano, with the Certosa below.
  • 4,872 residents, down 7.7% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration about 0.226 g.
  • Autostrada del Mediterraneo exit in the valley.

Overview

Padula is a municipality in the province of Salerno, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 4,872 residents, ranked 49 of 158 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Padula 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 0.226 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Padula, 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 7.7%. The estimated average age is 47 years, higher than the province average (45). 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 4.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Padula declared an average taxable income of 16,506 euros, below the provincial average (19,912 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Padula is in climate zone D, with 1,899 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 699 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Padula has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

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 Padula, compared with 8.0% in the province and 10.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.5 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Padula, 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 Padula: 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 Padula 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 87 inhabited census areas in Padula. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 27.1%
  • fair 72.9%

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 065087. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.