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Balzola: 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 Balzola

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 G. Marconi 1, Balzola.

Balzola, the rice fields of the Casale plain

North of Casale Monferrato, where the hills give way to the Po plain, rice-field country begins. Balzola lies here, among fields flooded in spring, farmsteads and straight roads linking Casale with the Vercelli area. It is a farming and residential village, with Casale as the reference for work, schools and hospital.

Homes are mostly detached village houses and, in the countryside, cascine, the traditional farmsteads, often large and with many outbuildings. The appeal of space needs weighing against costs: heating and maintaining a cascina is expensive, and before buying it is wise to check roofs, damp and whether converted parts are properly authorised. In summer, the rice fields also bring mosquitoes.

This is an older community. Over-65s make up 33.4%, against 28.6% for the province of Alessandria, and the average age is 51.6 (48.9 in the province). In 2023 there were 1,227 residents, down 13.6% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. Foreign nationals account for 4.2%.

Seismic hazard is low: Balzola is in zone 4, like 59 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.038 g. For older houses, the condition of the walls and insulation are what matter most.

The land registry is published by the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), and the report finds the land parcel from the address. On a plain close to the Po and crossed by irrigation canals, the official flood maps are the first thing to check, and the report reads them for the position of the house.

Key points

  • Rice-field plain north of Casale Monferrato.
  • Over-65s at 33.4%, against 28.6% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration 0.038 g.
  • Large farmsteads: check roofs, damp and running costs.

Overview

Balzola is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 1,227 residents, ranked 57 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Balzola is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Only 60 of 187 municipalities in the province are in zone 4.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.038 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 fallen by 13.6%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (49). 33% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 4.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Balzola declared an average taxable income of 22,594 euros, below the provincial average (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Balzola is in climate zone E, with 2,817 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 119 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Balzola has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets 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 5.4% of the land in Balzola, 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

Balzola 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 no contaminated sites in Balzola.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Balzola: 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 Balzola 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 9 inhabited census areas in Balzola. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 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 006011. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.