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Senise: 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 Senise

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, Senise.

Senise, the Sinni valley and Lake Monte Cotugno

Senise is the main town of the middle Sinni valley in southern Basilicata, between the Pollino massif and the Ionian coast. Beside it stretches Lake Monte Cotugno, a large reservoir held back by an earth dam that supplies water to Basilicata and Puglia. The town's name is also linked to the Senise peppers, a protected regional product (IGP) which, once dried, become the crunchy peperoni cruschi of Lucanian cooking.

For getting around, the key road is the Sinnica, a main road that runs along the valley and links the A2 motorway with the Ionian coast. Senise serves the surrounding villages with schools, shops and offices; by population it is number 10 among the municipalities in the province of Potenza.

The town lies at about three hundred and thirty metres, on hills made largely of clay. Landslides and slow ground movement on the slopes have long been an issue here. For a buyer, the first thing to look at is the stability of the ground under the house, which the report checks for the address against the official landslide hazard maps.

There were 6,463 residents in 2023, down 9.3% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 46.7, slightly below the provincial 47.3, and foreign residents make up 4.1%. Average declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Almost the whole province of Potenza has high seismic hazard: 40 municipalities are in zone 1 and 59 in zone 2 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, where 1 is the highest. Senise is in zone 2, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.128 g. As well as the building's structure, ask about the ground it stands on, because on clay soils the two go together. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps are published, and the report reaches the land parcel.

Key points

  • Middle Sinni valley, beside Lake Monte Cotugno.
  • Clay slopes: landslide risk is the first check.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.128 g.
  • 6,463 residents, down 9.3% since 2011.

Overview

Senise is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 6,463 residents, among the most populous in the province (10 of 100).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Senise is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2d. Most municipalities in the province (59 of 100) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.128 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Senise, 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 9.3%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 4.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Senise declared an average taxable income of 18,459 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Senise is in climate zone D, with 1,518 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 335 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Senise has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 5 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.3 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.5).

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 2.7% of the land in Senise, compared with 3.5% in the province and 3.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 8.6 hectares.

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 no contaminated sites in Senise.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Senise: 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 Senise 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 29 inhabited census areas in Senise. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 26.2%
  • good 73.8%

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 076085. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.