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Bettola: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Bettola

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: Viale Vittoria 1, Bettola.

Bettola, the main town of the Val Nure in the Piacenza Apennines

Driving up the Val Nure from Piacenza, past Ponte dell'Olio, you reach Bettola, the reference point for services in the middle valley. The town sits on the valley floor along the Nure stream, and its municipality is very large: it climbs both sides of the Apennines with dozens of hamlets and villages, some lived in all year and others almost only in summer.

For buyers the gap between the main town and the hamlets is wide. In town there are flats, houses in the centre and services close at hand. In the hamlets there are stone houses, often with land, with long winding roads and cold winters. Piacenza remains the reference for work and the hospital and is reached by car along the valley.

The population is old. Istat, Italy's statistics office, counts 2,646 residents in 2023, down 11.8% since 2011. The average age is 52.2 against 46.7 in the province, and over-65s make up 35.0%, against 25.3%. Foreign residents account for 8.6%.

On earthquakes, Bettola is in seismic zone 3, like all 45 other municipalities in the province of Piacenza, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.114 g. In a mountain stone house, have the roof, floors and load-bearing walls checked.

Across such wide slopes, gradient and landslide conditions vary from one hamlet to the next, and along the Nure flooding counts. The report reads the official maps at the exact address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastre is published and links the address to its land parcel.

Key points

  • Main town of the middle Val Nure, along the stream
  • Many hamlets on the slopes, some lived in only in summer
  • Over-65s at 35.0%, against 25.3% in the province
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.114 g

Overview

Bettola is a municipality in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 2,646 residents, ranked 26 of 46 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bettola is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 46 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.114 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 11.8%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (47). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 8.6% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bettola declared an average taxable income of 23,574 euros, below the provincial average (26,934 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bettola is in climate zone E, with 2,878 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 329 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bettola has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 1 sports facility.

There are 0.8 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.4).

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 4.0% of the land in Bettola, compared with 7.7% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Bettola is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna 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 open contaminated sites in Bettola; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bettola: 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 Bettola 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 94 inhabited census areas in Bettola. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 6.7%
  • fair 93.3%

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 033004. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.