Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Personal area

Salerno: what to know before buying a home

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

Search for an address in Salerno

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 Dante 7, Milan.

Salerno, on the bay between the Amalfi Coast and Cilento

Salerno stretches along its bay between the Amalfi Coast to the west and the Sele plain leading south towards Cilento. In the Middle Ages it was home to the Scuola Medica Salernitana, a renowned school of medicine; its cathedral holds the relics of St Matthew, and in 1944 the city hosted the Italian government for a few months.

This is a city older than its region. The estimated average age in Salerno is 47.7, against 45.2 for the province, and over-65s make up 26.7%, well above the provincial 22.7% and 20.9% for Campania. At the end of 2023 there were 126,715 residents, 4.4% fewer than in 2011: the largest town in a sprawling province of 158 municipalities, where it holds 12.0% of the population. Foreign residents account for 4.2%.

The province of Salerno has municipalities in three seismic zones: 18 in zone 1, 97 in zone 2 and 43 in zone 3. The city is in zone 2, but its expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is lower than in other towns in the same zone, about 0.105 g, a moderate value. Zone 2 still sets the building rules, so anyone buying in an older block should ask about the structural design and any upgrading work.

Healthcare stands out among the services: Overture Maps data record 155 facilities, 1.22 per 1,000 residents against 0.58 across the province. There are 917 cafés and restaurants (7.24 per 1,000 against 5.73), while supermarkets are a little less dense than the provincial average (0.61 against 0.73). The Ministry of Health lists 41 pharmacies.

Salerno's land registry can be consulted: the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) maps are public, and the report identifies the sheet and parcel (foglio and particella) from the address. Between the sea and the hills rising right behind the city, landslide and flood hazard and local prices are checked at the address itself.

Key points

  • Home of the medieval Salerno medical school, between the Amalfi Coast and Cilento.
  • Older than Campania as a whole: over-65s at 26.7%.
  • Seismic zone 2; expected ground acceleration about 0.105 g.
  • Twice the provincial average of healthcare facilities per resident.

Overview

Salerno is the capital of the province of Salerno, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 126,715 residents, the most populous municipality in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Salerno is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (97 of 158) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.105 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Salerno, 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.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood risk changes from one street to the next, even within the same municipality: for this reason we do not summarise it as a single figure for the whole of Salerno.

The report checks the exact address against the ISPRA national maps and tells you in plain words whether the building falls within an at-risk area. The official map is also available on IdroGEO.

House prices

We do not publish price tables by municipality. The report gives the minimum and maximum price per square metre for the address's zone, from the Revenue Agency's OMI valuations, with the reference half-year. It is a range for the zone, not the value of a specific home.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 4.4%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (45). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 4.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Salerno has 125 schools and 41 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 77 grocery shops and supermarkets, 155 healthcare facilities, 118 sports facilities and 22 parks and green areas.

There are 1.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

This data is gathered from several providers: services may be missing or closed businesses may still appear. The report counts services within 500 metres and 1 kilometre of the address.

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

Land registry

The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps for Salerno: the report finds the building's parcel, that is its sheet and parcel number, starting from the address.

Data sources

ISTAT code 065116. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.