Pietraroja: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Benevento, Campania. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
Land sheet 6 free checks
Search for an address in Pietraroja
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 Castello 1, Pietraroja.
Pietraroja, the Matese village known for its fossils
On the Campania side of the Matese massif, more than 800 metres up, Pietraroja is a mountain village known to scientists around the world for its fossils. The rocks here yielded Scipionyx samniticus, the small dinosaur nicknamed Ciro, a find studied by palaeontologists worldwide, and the village has a museum devoted to local fossils.
If you are thinking of buying, Pietraroja is proper mountain country. Climate zone E and the altitude bring cold winters and some snow, the roads up from the Sannio are mountain roads and for the main services people go down to the valley, towards Benevento or the larger towns of the province. Houses in the centre are stone-built and often old: before buying, check the roof, damp and services, and find out whether the building has already had structural work.
In 2023 there were 497 residents, 15.3% fewer than in 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 49.2 against 46.5 in the province of Benevento, and over-65s make up 30.4%. Foreign residents account for 0.6%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.
Pietraroja is in seismic zone 1, the highest class on the Civil Protection department's national scale, like 48 of the 78 municipalities in the province of Benevento; the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.266 g. The Sannio has a long history of earthquakes: for a masonry house, ask for the construction date, any seismic upgrading and the design documents.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps cover the municipality and the report goes from the address to the land parcel. In the mountains, landslides and slope have to be read for the exact spot, on the official maps the report consults.
Key points
- Matese village over 800 metres up, home of the dinosaur Ciro.
- Population down 15.3% since 2011, over-65s at 30.4%.
- Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration about 0.266 g.
- Stone houses: ask what structural work has been done.
Overview
Pietraroja is a municipality in the province of Benevento, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 497 residents, among the smallest in the province (76 of 78).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pietraroja is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (48 of 78) are in the same zone.
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 Pietraroja, 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 15.3%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 0.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pietraroja declared an average taxable income of 14,796 euros, below the provincial average (19,496 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Pietraroja is in climate zone E, with 2,559 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 818 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pietraroja has 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop and 1 green area.
The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.4 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 2.4% of the land in Pietraroja, compared with 7.4% 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Pietraroja. 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 Pietraroja: 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 Pietraroja 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 9 inhabited census areas in Pietraroja. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 4.5%
- fair 95.5%
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 062051. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.