Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Bobbio: 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 Bobbio

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: Localita' Caminata di Ceci 1, Bobbio.

Bobbio, the abbey of St Columbanus and the Trebbia valley

Bobbio is the main town of the Trebbia valley in the province of Piacenza, and it grew up around the abbey founded by the Irish monk Columbanus in the early Middle Ages. The town faces the river across its Ponte Vecchio, also called the Ponte Gobbo or humpback bridge, long and irregular, which has become its emblem. Piacenza is about an hour down the valley, on the main road that follows the Trebbia up towards Genoa.

The population is among the oldest in the province. There were 3,412 residents in 2023, down 8.1% on 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics office, with an average age of 52.9 against 46.7 in the province. Over-65s make up 36.0%, well above the provincial 25.3%. Foreign nationals are 11.2%.

The market mixes the homes of year-round residents with second homes owned by people from Piacenza, Milan or Genoa who come for the summer and weekends. In the old centre the houses are old, narrow and subject to conservation rules; in the hamlets scattered across the mountain there are stone farmhouses, often isolated and reached by long roads. Buyers should weigh up the distance to services, which the report measures from the address.

All 46 municipalities in the province of Piacenza are in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, and in Bobbio the expected ground acceleration is about 0.102 g. With a stone farmhouse, ask whether the roof has been redone and the walls strengthened.

For landslides and flooding, the report looks up the official maps for the exact address. Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency are available.

Key points

  • Main town of the Trebbia valley, built around its abbey.
  • Over-65s at 36.0%, against 25.3% for the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, like the whole province of Piacenza.
  • Second homes and stone farmhouses in the hamlets.

Overview

Bobbio is a municipality in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 3,412 residents, ranked 23 of 46 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bobbio 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 0.102 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 8.1%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (47). 36% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 11.2% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bobbio declared an average taxable income of 24,547 euros, below the provincial average (26,934 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bobbio is in climate zone E, with 2,802 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 272 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bobbio has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 1 sports facility.

There are 0.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).

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 4.4% of the land in Bobbio, 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

Bobbio is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Bobbio. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bobbio: 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 Bobbio 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 68 inhabited census areas in Bobbio. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.0%
  • fair 34.7%
  • good 64.3%

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 033005. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.