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Briga Alta: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Briga Alta

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 Quattro Novembre 1, Briga Alta.

Briga Alta, Upega, Piaggia and Carnino between France and Liguria

Briga Alta was born of a border. When the historic main town of Briga passed to France after the Second World War, the hamlets left in Italy formed a municipality of their own, today split between Piaggia, Upega and Carnino in the upper Tanaro valley, where the province of Cuneo meets Liguria and the French border. People here still speak Brigasco, the traditional dialect of these mountains.

The three hamlets sit above twelve hundred metres among pasture, woods and the mountains of the Marguareis range. Buyers will find stone houses with slab roofs, often in need of restoration, in villages that are very quiet in winter and visited by walkers in summer. Services are a long way off and mountain roads call for care in winter. The area is in climate zone F, the coldest band in Italy's heating classification, so insulation and heating decide what the house costs to run.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 41 residents in 2023, down 14.6% since 2011. The estimated average age is 53.7, against 46.3 in the province, and over-65s make up 26.8%, against 25.1% province-wide. Declared incomes are in line with the Cuneo average.

Briga Alta is in seismic zone 3, like 140 other municipalities in the province, and expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.140 g. Before signing for a stone house, a technical check of walls, vaults and roof is advisable.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, and the report links the address to its land parcel. In high mountains, avalanches, landslides and streams are checked for the individual house on the official maps.

Key points

  • Hamlets of Piaggia, Upega and Carnino, between France and Liguria.
  • Formed after the town of Briga passed to France.
  • 41 residents in 2023, down 14.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.140 g.

Overview

Briga Alta is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 41 residents, among the smallest in the province (247 of 247).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Briga Alta is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3S. Most municipalities in the province (141 of 247) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.140 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 14.6%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (46). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 0.0% of the population. On average, a household has 1.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Briga Alta declared an average taxable income of 25,347 euros, in line with the province (24,913 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Briga Alta is in climate zone F, with 3,939 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,310 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.1 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 0.5% of the land in Briga Alta, compared with 5.3% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Briga Alta 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 low. 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 Briga Alta.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Briga Alta: 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 Briga Alta 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 3 inhabited census areas in Briga Alta. 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 004031. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.