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Albera Ligure: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Albera Ligure

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 della Villa 1, Albera Ligure.

Albera Ligure, scattered hamlets in the Val Borbera

Albera Ligure is one of the municipalities of the Val Borbera, the Apennine valley that runs down to the Scrivia and the plain around Novi Ligure, in a corner of Piedmont close to Liguria, Lombardy and Emilia. The name recalls the historic link with Genoa, which together with Alessandria is still the most reachable large city. The municipality is a main village at around four hundred metres plus many hamlets on the slopes, some of them tiny.

The population keeps falling: in 2023 there were 302 residents, 27 fewer than in 2011, a fall of 8.2%. The estimated average age is 52.7, against 48.9 for the province of Alessandria, and over-65s make up 35.4%. Households average 1.72 people. Foreign residents account for 6.6%.

For a buyer, the choice of hamlet matters a great deal: some are in the valley bottom along the main road, others higher up, with narrow access and long stretches without services. Many houses are stone-built, with roofs to check and systems to redo. Some homes are used as second homes.

Earthquake risk is moderate: Albera Ligure is in seismic zone 3 under the Civil Protection classification, like 127 of the 187 municipalities in the province, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.097 g. With a stone house, find out whether past work also covered the structure.

In Apennine valleys, the stream and the slopes need checking plot by plot: the report reads the official landslide and flood maps at the address and, using the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps, traces the land parcel.

Key points

  • Val Borbera, in the Apennines towards Liguria.
  • 302 residents in 2023, down 8.2%.
  • Over-65s at 35.4%, average age 52.7.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.097 g.

Overview

Albera Ligure is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 302 residents, ranked 155 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Albera Ligure is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (127 of 187) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.097 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 8.2%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (49). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 6.6% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Albera Ligure declared an average taxable income of 21,776 euros, below the provincial average (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Albera Ligure is in climate zone E, with 2,831 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 415 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Albera Ligure has 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 sports facility.

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.0 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 Albera Ligure, compared with 7.2% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Albera Ligure is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Piemonte in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 Albera Ligure.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Albera Ligure: 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 Albera Ligure 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 20 inhabited census areas in Albera Ligure. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 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 006002. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.