Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Candelo: 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 Candelo

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 Sandigliano 1, Candelo.

Candelo, the Ricetto and the Baraggia on Biella's doorstep

The Ricetto di Candelo is one of the best preserved fortified medieval villages in Piedmont: an enclosure of cobblestone and brick houses once used to store wine and harvests, now open to visitors. The modern town has grown around it, joined to Biella on the south-east side, and beyond the houses lies the Baraggia, a heathland protected as a nature reserve.

In practice Candelo is a residential extension of Biella. People work in the city or in the area's textile firms and live in detached houses with gardens, quieter than the provincial capital. The Biella housing market has been weak for years, with low prices and plenty of homes for sale; for buyers that means room to negotiate, for investors a slow resale.

At the end of 2023 there were 7,245 residents, 8.9% fewer than in 2011, a loss of 707, according to Istat, the national statistics office. It is a marked decline, in a province that is among the oldest in Italy. The estimated average age is 49.4 and over-65s make up 29.8%. Foreign residents are few, 3.0%.

Earthquakes are not a particular concern. Candelo is in seismic zone 4 on the Civil Protection scale, like 49 other municipalities around Biella, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.040 g. In the 1960s and 1970s houses common here, the boiler, windows and insulation weigh more, as winters are cold (climate zone E).

The report links the address to its land parcel using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps. For houses near the streams flowing down to the plain, check the flood maps for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Medieval Ricetto and the Baraggia reserve, next to Biella.
  • Population down 8.9% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.040 g.
  • Weak market: room to negotiate, slow resale.

Overview

Candelo is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 7,245 residents, among the most populous in the province (5 of 74).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Candelo 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 0.040 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 8.9%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 3.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Candelo declared an average taxable income of 24,773 euros, in line with the province (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Candelo is in climate zone E, with 2,746 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 340 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Candelo has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 6 sports facilities.

There are 0.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

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 14.5% of the land in Candelo, 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

Candelo is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area 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 Candelo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Candelo: 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 Candelo 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 34 inhabited census areas in Candelo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 10.7%
  • fair 70.8%
  • good 18.4%

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 096012. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.