# Earthquakes and volcanoes: how Italy classifies risk

> All of Italy is in a seismic zone, from 1 to 4, and 8 volcanoes are under permanent surveillance. What those two systems mean for a trip, checked in 2026.

URL: https://myitalia.it/plan/earthquakes-and-volcanoes
Last updated: 2026-09-02

Every square kilometer of Italy sits in one of 4 seismic zones, and 8 volcanoes are under permanent INGV surveillance, which is why the country publishes risk levels rather than reassurance.

## Zone 4 is not zone zero

Italian territory is classified into 4 seismic zones by expected peak horizontal ground acceleration with a 10 percent probability of being exceeded in 50 years. Zone 1 runs from 0.25g to 0.35g, zone 2 from 0.15g to 0.25g, zone 3 from 0.05g to 0.15g, and zone 4 up to 0.05g.

The important part is that there is no fifth category. Everywhere is classified, so a low number means low hazard rather than none, and building rules follow the number. Before 2003 only 2,965 comuni were classified at all, covering 45 percent of the territory and 40 percent of the population.

## Who draws the map

The current framework comes from emergency ordinance 3274 of 2003, updated by ordinance 3519 of 2006, with the detailed classification delegated to the regions inside national criteria. So the zone of a specific comune is a regional act, not a national list you can read in one place.

For a traveler that is mostly invisible and entirely relevant: it is the reason a hotel built after 2003 in the Apennines is built the way it is. It is not a reason to change where you sleep.

## 8 volcanoes, 3 observatories

INGV's surveillance service monitors 8 Italian volcanoes. Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia are watched from the Naples section, the Osservatorio Vesuviano; Etna, Stromboli, Vulcano and Pantelleria from the Catania section, the Osservatorio Etneo; the Colli Albani from the national earthquake observatory in Rome. Palermo runs geochemical surveillance of the Sicilian volcanoes.

That page describes who watches what. It does not classify how active each one is, which is a separate judgment made through the alert scale.

## The 4 colors, and who decides them

Green, yellow, orange and red are the 4 levels. Green is the volcano's ordinary activity and the other 3 describe rising departure from equilibrium toward a possible eruption. The levels are set by the civil protection department on assessments from its competence centers, the INGV sections in Catania and Palermo and the University of Florence, in periodic video conferences.

National emergency planning exists for 4 of the 8: Stromboli, Vulcano, Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei. A volcano without a national plan is not a volcano without monitoring.

## What a planning zone is, and what it is not

Campi Flegrei is at yellow with an attention phase as of September 2026. Its national plan draws a red zone for preventive evacuation covering around 500,000 residents, all of Pozzuoli, Bacoli, Monte di Procida and Quarto, parts of Giugliano in Campania and Marano di Napoli, and several Naples districts including Soccavo, Pianura, Bagnoli and Fuorigrotta. A yellow zone exposed to ash fall holds over 800,000, across 24 Naples districts and comuni such as Villaricca, Calvizzano, Mugnano, Melito and Casavatore.

Those numbers describe what a plan would have to move, not what is happening. Read them next to the current alert level, never on their own, which is exactly how the civil protection department publishes them. The [alert levels page](/themes/volcanoes) carries the status of each volcano with its check date.

## FAQ

### Is Italy safe from earthquakes?

The whole country is classified, in 4 zones by expected ground acceleration, so there is no unclassified area. Zone 4, at up to 0.05g, is the lowest hazard band and covers a large share of the north and the coasts; zone 1, above 0.25g, is the highest.

### What do the Italian seismic zones mean?

They rank expected peak horizontal ground acceleration with a 10 percent chance of being exceeded in 50 years. Zone 1 is 0.25g to 0.35g, zone 2 is 0.15g to 0.25g, zone 3 is 0.05g to 0.15g and zone 4 is up to 0.05g. Regions assign the detail.

### Which volcanoes does Italy monitor?

Eight. Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia from the Naples section, Etna, Stromboli, Vulcano and Pantelleria from Catania, and the Colli Albani from the national earthquake observatory in Rome. Palermo handles geochemical surveillance of the Sicilian volcanoes.

### Should I avoid Naples because of Campi Flegrei?

The area is at yellow with an attention phase as of September 2026, which is the second of 4 levels and means reinforced monitoring, not evacuation. The planning red zone holds around 500,000 residents; a planning zone describes a scenario, not a hazard in progress.

### How old is Italy's seismic map?

The current framework dates from emergency ordinance 3274 of 2003, updated by ordinance 3519 of 2006, with the detailed classification left to the regions. Before 2003 only 2,965 comuni were classified, covering 45 percent of the territory and 40 percent of the population.

### What should a visitor actually do about this?

Nothing that changes a booking. Read the civil protection alert level for volcanoes before you travel to the Naples or Catania areas, know that hotel and museum buildings are built to a classified zone, and treat any site telling you an eruption is due as a site to close.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il territorio italiano e' classificato in quattro zone sismiche in base alla probabilita' di terremoto: zona 1 (ag oltre 0,25g fino a 0,35g), zona 2 (0,15-0,25g), zona 3 (0,05-0,15g) e zona 4 (fino a 0,05g); il quadro attuale deriva dall'OPCM 3274/2003, aggiornato dall'OPCM 3519/2006, e la classificazione di dettaglio spetta alle Regioni. | [Dipartimento della Protezione Civile](https://rischi.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/sismico/attivita/classificazione-sismica/) | medium | 2028-12-31 |
| Il sistema nazionale di allerta vulcanica italiano prevede quattro livelli - verde, giallo, arancione, rosso - dove il verde corrisponde all'attivita' ordinaria del vulcano e i successivi a stadi crescenti di disequilibrio verso una possibile eruzione. | [Dipartimento della Protezione Civile](https://rischi.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/vulcanico/vulcani-italia/etna/); [doc 2](https://rischi.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/vulcanico/vulcani-italia/) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| Il Servizio di sorveglianza dei vulcani attivi dell'INGV monitora otto vulcani italiani: Vesuvio, Campi Flegrei e Ischia (Sezione di Napoli - Osservatorio Vesuviano), Etna, Stromboli, Vulcano e Pantelleria (Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo), Colli Albani (Osservatorio Nazionale Terremoti). | [INGV](https://www.ingv.it/monitoraggio-e-infrastrutture/sorveglianza/servizio-sorveglianza-vulcani-attivi) | medium | 2028-12-31 |
| I Campi Flegrei sono in livello di allerta GIALLO con fase operativa di attenzione: il livello e' stato stabilito con decreto del 30 ottobre 2025 e confermato dal Dipartimento della Protezione Civile il 4 novembre 2025 dopo la riunione della Commissione Grandi Rischi - settore vulcanico. | [Dipartimento della Protezione Civile](https://rischi.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/vulcanico/vulcani-italia/campi-flegrei/); [doc 2](https://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/comunicato-stampa/campi-flegrei-confermata-allerta-gialla-rischio-vulcanico/) | medium | 2027-03-31 |
| Il piano nazionale per i Campi Flegrei individua una zona rossa (evacuazione preventiva) con circa 500.000 residenti - Pozzuoli, Bacoli, Monte di Procida, Quarto per intero, parte di Giugliano in Campania e Marano di Napoli e diversi quartieri di Napoli - e una zona gialla esposta alla ricaduta di cenere con oltre 800.000 residenti. | [Dipartimento della Protezione Civile](https://rischi.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/vulcanico/vulcani-italia/campi-flegrei/) | medium | 2027-12-31 |

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/organizza/earthquakes-and-volcanoes.md
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