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Busca: 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 Busca

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 Tarantasca 1, Busca.

Busca, where the Maira valley opens towards Cuneo

Where the Maira valley opens onto the Cuneo plain, downstream from Dronero, lies Busca, at around 500 metres. The town sits between the valley floor and a band of hills, with Cuneo a short drive to the south and the Alps around Monviso in the background. On the hill above the centre stands the Castello del Roccolo, a nineteenth-century Gothic Revival villa set in parkland.

This is a farming and craft-business municipality, with orchards and fields on the plain and a number of scattered hamlets. The market offers houses in the centre, often around an inner courtyard, detached homes built from the 1970s and farmhouses in the countryside or on the hills, where roads climb and winter snow can make access harder. For people working in Cuneo or at local firms, a car is still a must.

At the end of 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 10,143 residents, almost exactly as many as in 2011 (10,113). Busca ranks 9 out of 247 municipalities in the province by population, and its mean age of 45.1 is a little below the provincial figure. People over 65 make up 23.6% and foreign residents 8.8%. Declared incomes are in line with the average for the province of Cuneo.

The province of Cuneo is split almost evenly between seismic zones 3 and 4 on the Civil Protection Department's scale (1 is the highest hazard, 4 the lowest), with 141 municipalities in the former. Busca is in zone 3, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.128 g, not a negligible value for Piedmont. For an old masonry house, ask how walls and floors are tied together and what state the roof is in.

Winters are cold (climate zone E), and heating and insulation weigh on running costs. Along the Maira and the streams running off the hills, flood hazard varies from one area to another, and on slopes so does landslide hazard; the report reads both for the address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps here.

Key points

  • Where the Maira valley opens out, at around 500 metres, north of Cuneo.
  • Population stable since 2011, mean age 45.1.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.128 g.
  • Hills and hamlets: consider snow, gradients and landslides.

Overview

Busca is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 10,143 residents, among the most populous in the province (9 of 247).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Busca 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 0.128 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 8.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Busca declared an average taxable income of 24,382 euros, in line with the province (24,913 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Busca is in climate zone E, with 2,935 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 500 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Busca has 8 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 7 grocery shops and supermarkets, 6 healthcare facilities and 9 sports facilities.

There are 0.8 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (1.1).

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 8.2% of the land in Busca, compared with 5.3% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 4.8 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

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

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Busca: 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 Busca 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 155 inhabited census areas in Busca. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 75 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 21.6%
  • good 51.2%
  • very good 27.3%

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 004034. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.