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Rotonda: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Rotonda

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: Corso Garibaldi 1, Rotonda.

Rotonda, in the Basilicata heart of the Pollino

Rotonda is the town that hosts the headquarters of the Pollino National Park authority, on the Basilicata side of the massif, in the Mercure valley. The old centre is on a hill at almost six hundred metres, with the park's mountains all around. The area is known for two farm products with protected designation of origin (DOP), the white bean and the red aubergine of Rotonda.

People buying here usually want a house in a quiet mountain town, as a main home or as a second home linked to tourism in the park. The market is made up of stone houses in the centre, often needing work, and newer homes on the edge of town and in the countryside. Larger services are far away and reached by car; northern Calabria and the Tyrrhenian coast are closer than Potenza. On the slopes and near streams the report checks the official maps for the address.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 3,147 residents in 2023, down 10.6% since 2011. The average age is 48.9, against 47.3 for the province, and over-65s make up 28.6%. Foreign nationals account for 4.2%. Average incomes are below the Potenza average.

The figure to keep most in mind is seismic. Rotonda is in zone 1, the highest class in the Civil Protection classification, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.261 g, a high value. For a masonry house it is advisable to have a surveyor assess the structure before buying and to ask whether it has been seismically upgraded. The climate zone is E, with cold winters.

Key points

  • Headquarters of the Pollino National Park authority.
  • White beans and red aubergines of Rotonda, both DOP.
  • 3,147 residents, down 10.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, acceleration 0.261 g.

Overview

Rotonda is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 3,147 residents, ranked 31 of 100 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rotonda is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 1a. Only 40 of 100 municipalities in the province are in zone 1.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.261 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Rotonda, 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 10.6%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). 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 Rotonda declared an average taxable income of 18,525 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rotonda is in climate zone E, with 2,113 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 580 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rotonda has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 1 sports facility and 4 parks and green areas.

There are 1.6 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.8).

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 4.4% of the land in Rotonda, compared with 3.5% in the province and 3.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Rotonda.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Rotonda: 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 Rotonda 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 55 inhabited census areas in Rotonda. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.9%
  • fair 98.1%

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 076070. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.