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Salento: 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 Salento

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 4, Salento.

Salento, a Cilento village near Vallo della Lucania

The name is misleading: this Salento is not in Apulia but in the Cilento, in the province of Salerno, on the inland hills not far from Vallo della Lucania. The village stands on high ground, with a stone-built centre surrounded by olive groves, woods and terraced fields, and the Cilento coast is under half an hour's drive. Vallo della Lucania has the hospital, secondary schools and offices.

There were 1,762 residents in 2023, down 12.1% on 2011, or 243 fewer people. The average age is 47.3 against 45.2 in the province, and over-65s are 25.4%, above the provincial 22.7%. Households have 2.28 members on average and foreign residents account for 3.0%.

Buyers in Salento will find stone houses in the centre, often needing renovation, country houses with olive groves and newer homes along the access roads. The climate is mild (climate zone D).

Salento is in seismic zone 3, as are 42 other municipalities in the province of Salerno, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.088 g in the built-up area. For a stone house, check the state of the walls, floors and roof.

On the Cilento hills the ground needs checking plot by plot. The report for an address measures the slope, checks the official landslide and flood maps and finds the plot on the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency.

Key points

  • In the Cilento, not Apulia, near Vallo della Lucania.
  • Population down 12.1% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.088 g.
  • Stone houses and olive groves not far from the coast.

Overview

Salento is a municipality in the province of Salerno, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 1,762 residents, ranked 92 of 158 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Salento 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 0.088 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 12.1%. 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 3.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Salento declared an average taxable income of 16,805 euros, below the provincial average (19,912 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Salento is in climate zone D, with 1,529 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 420 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Salento has 1 school and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop and 2 sports facilities.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 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 4.0% of the land in Salento, 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

Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Salento. 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 Salento: 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 Salento 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 13 inhabited census areas in Salento. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 54.9%
  • good 45.1%

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 065115. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.