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Positano: 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 Positano

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 Pasitea 1, Positano.

Positano, terraced houses on the Amalfi Coast

Positano is built vertically: its coloured houses step down from the mountain to the beach, linked by stairways and a single main road that winds across the slope. It is part of the Amalfi Coast, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and has two hamlets higher up, Montepertuso and Nocelle, where the Path of the Gods ends. You arrive on the Amalfitana coast road, narrow and busy in summer, or by sea on ferries from Salerno, Amalfi and Sorrento.

The property market revolves around tourism: holiday homes, guest rooms, hotels and foreign buyers. Average declared incomes are well above the average for the province of Salerno. Buyers should weigh three things. The first is access: many houses can only be reached on foot, with dozens or hundreds of steps. The second is landscape protection, which is very strict: any exterior work needs permission, and planning compliance must be checked carefully, including any past amnesty applications (condoni). The third is looking after a property in a town that empties in winter.

In 2023 there were 3,729 residents, down 3.3% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 46.3 against 45.2 in the province, and over-65s make up 23.7%. Foreign residents account for 5.2%.

Positano is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.096 g. Climate zone C means mild winters.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps. The limestone slopes above the town are steep and prone to rockfalls and mudflows in heavy rain, so the report checks the official landslide maps for the address.

Key points

  • Terraced town on the Amalfi Coast, with Montepertuso and Nocelle.
  • 3,729 residents in 2023, down 3.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.096 g.
  • Strict landscape rules: check planning compliance carefully.

Overview

Positano is a municipality in the province of Salerno, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 3,729 residents, ranked 55 of 158 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Positano is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 43 of 158 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.096 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 3.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 5.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Positano declared an average taxable income of 32,912 euros, above the provincial average (19,912 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Positano is in climate zone C, with 1,052 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 30 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Positano has 5 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 4 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.3 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 8.6% of the land in Positano, 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 contaminated sites in Positano.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Positano: 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 Positano 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 31 inhabited census areas in Positano. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 62 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 3.8%
  • fair 59.5%
  • good 36.6%

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 065100. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.