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Chamois: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste, Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Chamois

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 Corgnolaz 1, Chamois.

Chamois, the car-free village reached by cable car

You cannot drive to Chamois. The village, at over eighteen hundred metres on the side of the Valtournenche, is reached by the cable car from Buisson on the valley floor, or on foot along the old mule track. Cars stay below; in the village people get around on foot, with small service vehicles and, in winter, on skis: there is a small ski area with lifts, and in summer paths lead to high pastures and mountain lakes.

This changes everything for a buyer. Every house move, building job and delivery goes through the cable car or special vehicles, and renovation costs rise accordingly. Before signing, get quotes that allow for transport and check the cable car's timetable and rules. This is climate zone F, and insulating stone and timber houses is the first big expense.

Here the number of residents has grown: Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 108 in 2023, up 14.9% on the 94 of 2011. The estimated average age is 51.3 and over-65s make up 31.5%. Declared incomes are above the regional average.

All 74 municipalities in the Aosta Valley are in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department's scale; in Chamois the expected ground acceleration is about 0.088 g. At this altitude snow, avalanches and slopes matter more.

The report checks landslides and flooding on the official maps at the address. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the Aosta Valley as well, linking the house to its land parcel.

Key points

  • High village with no road for cars: the cable car goes up from Buisson.
  • 108 residents in 2023, up 14.9% since 2011.
  • Building work and moves go by cable car: budget for it.
  • All 74 Aosta Valley municipalities in seismic zone 3.

Overview

Chamois is a municipality in the province of Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste, in Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste. At the end of 2023 it had 108 residents, among the smallest in the province (71 of 74).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Chamois is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 74 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.088 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 grown by 14.9%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (47). 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 1.9% of the population. On average, a household has 1.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Chamois declared an average taxable income of 33,380 euros, above the provincial average (26,152 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Chamois is in climate zone F, with 4,955 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,815 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.7 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 1.0% of the land in Chamois, compared with 2.2% in the province and 2.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Chamois is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Valle d'Aosta in 2026. 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 Chamois.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Chamois: 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 Chamois 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 8 inhabited census areas in Chamois. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 16.5%
  • good 83.5%

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 007016. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.