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Borriana: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Biella, Piemonte. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Borriana

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: Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini 1, Borriana.

Borriana, a lowland village south of Biella

Borriana lies on the plain south of Biella, where the ground slopes gently down from the hills towards the Vercelli countryside. It is a residential village, close enough to the city for a daily commute, with low houses, detached homes and farmsteads, fields around and woods along the watercourses. The centre is at around 300 metres.

For buyers, the usual choice is between a detached house with a garden, built in recent decades, and an old village house or farmstead to renovate. In the first case, insulation, the boiler and the energy rating matter; in the second, damp, the roof and services. Winters are those of climate zone E, cold and often damp.

The population is nearly stable: at the end of 2023 there were 860 residents, 2.3% fewer than the 880 of 2011. The average age is 49.1, slightly below 49.7 for the province of Biella, while over-65s are 31.5%, against 30.1% in the province. Foreign residents are 2.6%, and average declared income is a little below the provincial figure.

Earthquake hazard is low: Borriana is in seismic zone 4, the lowest on the national scale, along with 49 other municipalities in the province, and the expected ground acceleration is about 0.041 g. Money for works is better spent on services and energy savings.

Along the streams that come down from the Biella hills, flood hazard varies a great deal from one spot to the next, and the report checks the official maps for the exact address. Revenue Agency cadastral maps are published, so the report can go from the address to the plot.

Key points

  • Plain south of Biella, a residential village.
  • 860 residents, nearly stable since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 31.5%, against 30.1% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.041 g.

Overview

Borriana is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 860 residents, ranked 44 of 74 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Borriana is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (50 of 74) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.041 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 2.3%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 2.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Borriana declared an average taxable income of 23,686 euros, below the provincial average (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Borriana is in climate zone E, with 2,704 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 307 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Borriana 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 7.4% of the land in Borriana, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Borriana is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Piemonte in 2023. 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 Borriana.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Borriana: 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 Borriana 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 12 inhabited census areas in Borriana. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 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 096006. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.