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Rotondella: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Rotondella

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, Rotondella.

Rotondella, the hilltop overlooking the Ionian Sea

From Rotondella you can see all the way to the sea: the old town, built in rings around the top of a hill at around 570 metres, overlooks the Ionian plain of Basilicata and the Metapontino coast. The land runs down from clay hills to the plain, where farming is intensive, with orchards, citrus groves and greenhouses.

Buyers should distinguish between the hilltop town and the lowland areas. In the old centre there are stone houses along narrow, sloping streets, cheap and often in need of renovation; lower down there are country houses and recent buildings, closer to the Ionian coast road and the sea. Policoro is the main town in the area for shops, schools and services, a short drive away.

Istat, the national statistics institute, counts 2,404 residents in 2023, down 11.2% on 2011. The average age is 47.7 against 46.3 in the province of Matera, over-65s make up 26.5% and foreign residents 14.3%, a high share for Basilicata. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

Rotondella is in seismic zone 3, like 13 other municipalities in the province, with an expected acceleration of 0.093 g. For stone houses in the old town, ask about the state of the roofs, floors and walls and any work carried out.

On the clay hills and the plain, the ground needs to be looked at plot by plot: the report checks the official landslide and flood maps at the address and identifies the land parcel with the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Town built in rings on a hill overlooking the Ionian Sea.
  • Policoro and the sea a short drive away.
  • Population down 11.2% since 2011; foreign residents 14.3%.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.093 g.

Overview

Rotondella is a municipality in the province of Matera, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 2,404 residents, ranked 17 of 31 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rotondella is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3b. Only 14 of 31 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.093 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 11.2%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 14.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rotondella declared an average taxable income of 15,753 euros, below the provincial average (19,958 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rotondella is in climate zone D, with 1,925 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 575 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rotondella has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.4 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 2.1% of the land in Rotondella, compared with 2.7% in the province and 3.2% 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 low. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 4 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Rotondella. 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 Rotondella: 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 Rotondella 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 10 inhabited census areas in Rotondella. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 69.4%
  • good 30.6%

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 077023. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.