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Alba: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Alba

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 Piave 1, Alba.

Alba, on the Tanaro between the Langhe and Roero hills

On the banks of the Tanaro, where the Langhe hills end and the Roero begins, Alba is the hub of one of Italy's best-known wine and food areas. The historic centre keeps its medieval towers and the cathedral of San Lorenzo. Every autumn the town hosts the International White Truffle Fair, and Ferrero, the area's main employer, has its headquarters here. All around are the Barolo and Barbaresco hills, a landscape protected by UNESCO.

The property market reflects that reputation. In the pedestrian centre flats are few and expensive, often in historic palazzi. The flat districts towards the river and the ring road offer apartment blocks and detached houses at more ordinary prices. In the hills, among vineyards and hazelnut groves, farmhouses (cascine) and villas also attract foreign buyers, with prices that depend heavily on the view and the access road.

The Tanaro should not be forgotten. In the November 1994 flood the river inundated part of the town, and the low-lying areas towards the embankment are still the ones to look at most carefully. The report checks flood hazard for the address on the official maps, and landslide hazard in the hills.

The population is holding up: 31,146 residents in 2023, up 1.1% on 2011. Alba is one of the largest towns in the province of Cuneo, which has 247 municipalities, and a little older than average, with an average age of 47.0 against 46.3 and over-65s at 25.8%. Foreign nationals make up 11.9%, many working in the vineyards and the food industry. Average incomes are clearly above the provincial figure.

Earthquake hazard is low. The province of Cuneo only has municipalities in zones 3 and 4 of the Civil Protection classification, and Alba is in zone 4, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.048 g. In older buildings the state of roofs, facades and systems matters more. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps here, so the report finds the plot from the address.

Key points

  • Hub of the Langhe and Roero, home of the white truffle fair.
  • Low areas by the Tanaro need checking: they flooded in 1994.
  • Population up 1.1% since 2011, foreign nationals 11.9%.
  • Seismic zone 4, the lowest, acceleration about 0.048 g.

Overview

Alba is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 31,146 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Alba is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Only 106 of 247 municipalities in the province are in zone 4.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.048 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 1.1%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 11.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Alba declared an average taxable income of 28,803 euros, above the provincial average (24,913 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Alba is in climate zone E, with 2,528 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 172 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Alba has 34 schools and 9 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 30 grocery shops and supermarkets, 33 healthcare facilities, 44 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.

There are 1.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

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 19.5% of the land in Alba, compared with 5.3% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.8 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Alba is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Piemonte in 2023. 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 Alba, and 2 more have 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 Alba: 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 Alba 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 325 inhabited census areas in Alba. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 2.4%
  • fair 26.8%
  • good 70.8%

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 004003. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.