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Bard: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste, Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Bard

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 Vittorio Emanuele Secondo 1, Bard.

Bard, the village below the fort at the mouth of the Aosta Valley

Heading up the Dora Baltea towards Aosta, at one point the valley narrows around the rock of Bard. On top stands the fort, rebuilt by the House of Savoy in the nineteenth century and now home to the Museum of the Alps and to exhibitions. Below it, the medieval village stretches along the old road that once climbed towards Aosta, with stone houses, carved doorways and windows from earlier centuries.

Buying here almost always means buying an old building, often set against the rock or against the house next door. Expect thick walls, dim ground floors and stricter building rules than usual for facades and roofs, so it is worth asking the town hall what can be changed before making an offer. Visitors to the fort show up in the data too: there are 6 bars and restaurants, more than the residents alone would need.

Very few people live here: 102 in 2023, against 125 at the 2011 census, a fall of 18.4%. The estimated average age, 47.1, is almost the same as for the Aosta Valley as a whole (47.0), and foreign residents make up 5.9%. Declared incomes are slightly above the regional average.

All 74 municipalities in the Aosta Valley are in seismic zone 3, on the scale set by the Civil Protection Department, and the expected ground acceleration in Bard's built-up area is about 0.051 g, a low value. In the stone houses of the village, the condition of the roof, the timber floors and the ties between walls matters more.

The valley floor is tight here, squeezed between the river and the rock faces. The report reads the official landslide and flood maps at the exact address and, using the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), traces the house back to its land parcel.

Key points

  • Medieval village at the foot of Fort Bard, on the Dora Baltea.
  • 102 residents in 2023, down 18.4% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3 like the whole Aosta Valley, acceleration 0.051 g.
  • Old stone houses: check building rules, roofs and floors.

Overview

Bard is a municipality in the province of Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste, in Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste. At the end of 2023 it had 102 residents, among the smallest in the province (72 of 74).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bard is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 74 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.051 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 18.4%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 5.9% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bard declared an average taxable income of 27,205 euros, in line with the province (26,152 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bard is in climate zone E, with 2,832 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 400 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.7 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 6.3% of the land in Bard, compared with 2.2% in the province and 2.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Bard is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Valle d'Aosta in 2026. 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 Bard.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bard: 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 Bard 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 2 inhabited census areas in Bard. 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 007009. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.