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Alfedena: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Alfedena

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 Casili 1, Alfedena.

Alfedena, upper Sangro valley on the edge of the Abruzzo park

Woods, pasture and the mountains of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park surround Alfedena, a village in the upper Sangro valley above 900 metres, on the edge of the park. The old centre climbs the slope, while newer buildings have spread lower down.

Alfedena attracts both people looking for a holiday home, for summer or for the ski season in the upper Sangro, and people who live here year-round and work in nearby towns; for fuller services, Castel di Sangro is the reference. Winters are cold and snowy, so weigh up heating costs, insulation and how easy the house is to reach in the snowy months.

In 2023 there were 913 residents, up 16.3% on 2011, or 128 more people, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 49.7 against 47.5 in the province of L'Aquila, and over-65s make up 26.6%. Households are small, 1.72 people on average, and foreign residents account for 9.0%. Declared incomes are below the provincial figure.

Earthquakes are the main issue. In the province of L'Aquila, 103 of the 108 municipalities are in seismic zone 1 under the Civil Protection classification, Alfedena among them, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is 0.267 g. For a stone house in the old centre or a block of flats from the 1970s and 1980s, ask about structural assessments, seismic upgrading and the related permits.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality. For a building on the slope or near watercourses, the report checks the official landslide and flood maps.

Key points

  • Upper Sangro village on the edge of the Abruzzo national park.
  • Population up 16.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, expected acceleration 0.267 g.
  • Households of 1.72 people, over-65s at 26.6%.

Overview

Alfedena is a municipality in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 913 residents, ranked 53 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Alfedena is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (103 of 108) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.267 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Alfedena, 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 grown by 16.3%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (48). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.0% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Alfedena declared an average taxable income of 21,089 euros, below the provincial average (22,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Alfedena is in climate zone E, with 2,924 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 914 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Alfedena has 1 school and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop and 2 parks and green areas.

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 1.7% of the land in Alfedena, compared with 3.2% 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 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 Alfedena.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Alfedena: 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 Alfedena 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 7 inhabited census areas in Alfedena. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.3%
  • fair 99.7%

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 066003. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.