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Verbicaro: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Verbicaro

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 Roma 1, Verbicaro.

Verbicaro, a wine village behind the Riviera dei Cedri

Verbicaro is a hill village on the upper Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza province in Calabria, built on a slope facing the sea of the Riviera dei Cedri, at around 430 metres. Behind it rise the Orsomarso mountains, inside the Pollino National Park. The old centre is a dense cluster of stone houses, climbing lanes and flights of steps, while lower down the land falls towards the coast through vineyards and olive groves.

Wine is part of the village's identity, and Verbicaro gives its name to a protected designation. For buyers, the historic centre offers houses at very low prices, often shut for some time. Before making an offer, visit with a surveyor: roofs, damp and wiring are the items that push up the bill. If you want the sea, the coastal towns are a short drive away, with the main A2 motorway further inland.

The population is 2,592 (2023 figure from Istat, the national statistics office), down 19.3% since 2011, a steep fall shared by many hill towns in Calabria. Over-65s make up 30.5%, against 24.4% across the province, and foreign residents only 0.5%. Average incomes are below the provincial figure.

Verbicaro is in seismic zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.174 g. In a stone house in the old centre, find out whether any strengthening work has been done: Italian tax incentives for seismic upgrades can cover part of the cost.

In villages built on a slope, the gradient of the plot and the way water drains away both matter. For each address the report reads the official landslide and flood maps and measures distances to schools, pharmacies and shops.

Key points

  • Hill village above the Riviera dei Cedri, Calabria.
  • Population down 19.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.174 g.
  • Low-cost houses in the centre, often needing work.

Overview

Verbicaro is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. At the end of 2023 it had 2,592 residents, ranked 58 of 150 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Verbicaro is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (85 of 150) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.174 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Verbicaro, 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 19.3%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (46). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 0.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Verbicaro declared an average taxable income of 12,458 euros, below the provincial average (18,237 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Verbicaro is in climate zone D, with 1,662 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 428 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Verbicaro has 5 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop and 1 sports facility.

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 2.5% of the land in Verbicaro, compared with 4.4% in the province and 5.1% 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 Verbicaro. 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 Verbicaro: 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 Verbicaro 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 Verbicaro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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 078153. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.