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Tolve: 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 Tolve

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 1, Tolve.

Tolve, the Lucanian hills and the feast of San Rocco

Tolve is a town in inland Basilicata, on the hills north-east of Potenza, towards the province of Matera. It stands at around 570 metres on a rise surrounded by wheat fields and pasture. The town is known throughout the region for its devotion to Saint Roch (San Rocco): the August feast draws many pilgrims and matters a great deal to the local economy and identity.

Potenza is the reference city for work, the university and the hospital, reached by car on hill roads. The old centre has multi-storey stone houses, often narrow with steep stairs, while around the edges there are newer reinforced concrete buildings. Buyers find roomy houses at modest prices.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 2,933 residents in 2023, down 12.7% since 2011, a clear fall as in many towns in the region. The average age of 47.9 is almost the same as the provincial 47.3; over-65s make up 25.9% and foreign nationals just 1.6%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Tolve is in seismic zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.161 g. For any house, find out when it was built, whether it has had structural work and whether that work is documented. The clay hills around Potenza are prone to ground movement: the report checks gradient and the official landslide maps for the exact address. Climate zone D, cool and windy winters.

Key points

  • Hills north-east of Potenza, towards Matera.
  • Feast of San Rocco, an August pilgrimage.
  • 2,933 residents, down 12.7% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.161 g.

Overview

Tolve is a municipality in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata. At the end of 2023 it had 2,933 residents, ranked 33 of 100 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Tolve is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 2c. 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 0.161 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Tolve, 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 12.7%. 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 1.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Tolve declared an average taxable income of 18,764 euros, below the provincial average (20,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Tolve is in climate zone D, with 1,945 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 568 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Tolve has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets and 3 sports facilities.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 2.0% of the land in Tolve, 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

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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Tolve, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. 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 Tolve: 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 Tolve 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 23 inhabited census areas in Tolve. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 3.6%
  • good 96.4%

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 076090. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.