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Carcoforo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Carcoforo

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 Centro 1, Carcoforo.

Carcoforo, a Walser village in the Val d'Egua

High in the Valsesia, at the head of the Val d'Egua, Carcoforo is a village of Walser origin, founded by the German-speaking communities who settled the upper ends of the valleys around Monte Rosa in the Middle Ages. Timber and stone houses with balconies for drying hay are still the most recognisable part of the village, and its land falls within the Alta Valsesia Natural Park.

The town hall stands above thirteen hundred metres and the village is in climate zone F, the coldest band in Italy's heating classification. Winter is snowy and quiet; in summer walkers come through on their way over the passes. For a buyer, the condition of the roof and timber structures, insulation and the drive down to services in the lower valley are what count.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 75 residents in 2023, a change of 0.0% from 75 in 2011. The estimated average age is 49.0, close to 48.4 for the province of Vercelli, and over-65s make up 30.7%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Earthquake hazard is low. Carcoforo is in seismic zone 4 along with 80 other municipalities in the province, and expected ground acceleration is about 0.069 g. In the mountains the real hazards are avalanches, landslides and flash floods, which the report checks on the official maps at the address.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, so the report gets from the house to its land parcel. Restoration rules for traditional Walser houses can be tight, so speak to the town's planning office before drawing up any work.

Key points

  • Walser village at the head of the Val d'Egua, upper Valsesia.
  • Land inside the Alta Valsesia Natural Park, climate zone F.
  • 75 residents in 2023, change of 0.0% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.069 g.

Overview

Carcoforo is a municipality in the province of Vercelli, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 75 residents, among the smallest in the province (79 of 82).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Carcoforo is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (81 of 82) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.069 g, a moderate 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 1.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Carcoforo declared an average taxable income of 20,496 euros, below the provincial average (24,991 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Carcoforo is in climate zone F, with 4,000 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,304 metres above sea level.

Services

In the Overture Maps data, Carcoforo has 1 green area.

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 0.3% of the land in Carcoforo, compared with 5.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Carcoforo 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 Carcoforo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Carcoforo: 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 Carcoforo 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 Carcoforo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 57 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 002029. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.