Castelletto 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
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Search for an address in Castelletto 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: Frazione Crebini 1, Castelletto d'Orba.
Castelletto d'Orba, Ovada hill country on the Orba
Castelletto d'Orba takes its name from the stream that runs through the area, in the Alto Monferrato around Ovada, where Piedmont starts to climb towards the Ligurian Apennines. The hills are covered in vineyards and woodland, and scattered houses and farmsteads surround the village centre.
Buyers choose between the village, with terraced houses and small blocks of flats, and country houses with land among the vineyards and woods. Ovada and Novi Ligure are the main towns for services and work, and the motorway towards Genoa and the plain runs not far away. Average incomes are in line with the province of Alessandria.
Istat, the national statistics office, counts 1,814 residents in 2023, 13.5% fewer than in 2011. The population is older: an average age of 50.7 against 48.9 in the province, with over-65s at 29.9%. Households are small, 1.95 people on average, and foreign residents account for 6.7%.
Castelletto d'Orba is in seismic zone 3, like 126 other municipalities in the province, with an expected acceleration of 0.082 g. In hillside farmhouses the most useful checks are roofs, damp and retaining walls, while for houses near the Orba and smaller streams it is worth looking at the official flood maps.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps. From the address, the report finds the land parcel and measures the actual distance to shops, schools and pharmacies.
Key points
- Hill municipality near Ovada, along the Orba stream.
- Average age 50.7, over-65s at 29.9%.
- Population down 13.5% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.082 g.
Overview
Castelletto d'Orba is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 1,814 residents, ranked 30 of 187 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Castelletto 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 0.082 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 13.5%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (49). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 6.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Castelletto d'Orba declared an average taxable income of 24,787 euros, in line with the province (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Castelletto d'Orba is in climate zone E, with 2,650 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 200 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Castelletto d'Orba has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 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 8.8% of the land in Castelletto 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
Castelletto d'Orba 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Castelletto d'Orba. 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 Castelletto 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 Castelletto 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 31 inhabited census areas in Castelletto d'Orba. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 1.0%
- fair 99.0%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Piemonte, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Piemonte, Anagrafe regionale dei siti contaminati (ASCO). Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 9 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 006049. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.