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Capriata d'Orba: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Capriata d'Orba

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 Roma 1, Capriata d'Orba.

Capriata d'Orba, the Orba valley between Ovada and Novi Ligure

Capriata d'Orba lies on the plain and the first hills along the Orba river, in the Alto Monferrato, halfway between Ovada and Novi Ligure. The land alternates fields, vineyards and woods along the river, with a compact old centre and houses scattered across the countryside. Novi Ligure, Ovada and Alessandria provide work, secondary schools and services, and Liguria is under an hour's drive.

Declared incomes are above the average for the province of Alessandria. There were 1,761 residents in 2023, down 8.6% on 2011. The average age is 50.2 against 48.9 in the province, over-65s are 30.0% and households are small, with 2.02 members on average. Foreign residents make up 9.2%.

The market offers village houses in the centre, farmhouses with land, often needing work, and detached houses built in recent decades on the edge of the village. The village is in climate zone E, with cold winters and fog on the plain.

Capriata d'Orba is in seismic zone 3, as are 126 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.081 g in the built-up area. For a brick farmhouse, have the walls, floors and roof checked before signing the preliminary contract.

Between plain and river, the thing to check at an address is water. The report reads the official flood and landslide maps and finds the plot on the cadastral maps of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate).

Key points

  • Orba valley, between Ovada and Novi Ligure.
  • Declared incomes above the provincial average.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.081 g.
  • Between plain and river: check the flood maps.

Overview

Capriata d'Orba is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 1,761 residents, ranked 32 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Capriata d'Orba is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (127 of 187) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.081 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 8.6%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 9.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Capriata d'Orba declared an average taxable income of 27,786 euros, above the provincial average (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Capriata d'Orba is in climate zone E, with 2,699 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 176 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Capriata d'Orba has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility and 2 sports facilities.

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 6.6% of the land in Capriata d'Orba, compared with 7.2% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Capriata d'Orba 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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Capriata d'Orba, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. 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 Capriata d'Orba: 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 Capriata d'Orba 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 50 inhabited census areas in Capriata d'Orba. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 3.3%
  • fair 64.2%
  • good 32.5%

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 006029. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.