Chiesa in Valmalenco: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Sondrio, Lombardia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Chiesa in Valmalenco
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 Bernina 1, Chiesa in Valmalenco.
Chiesa in Valmalenco, the main village of the valley above Sondrio
From Sondrio the road climbs north up the Valmalenco, a side valley of the Valtellina that reaches the foot of the Bernina range, and Chiesa in Valmalenco is its main village. The town hall stands at around a thousand metres. The village lives on winter and summer tourism, with ski lifts and walking trails, and on working the local stone, serpentine, quarried in the valley.
For buyers, the market has two sides: homes of people who live here all year and the many flats used as holiday homes. The centre and the hamlets have stone buildings with slab roofs, next to apartment blocks built for tourism. The climate is zone F, the Italian band for the coldest areas, with long, snowy winters, so insulation, heating, the state of the roof and access in snow all affect running costs. On the slopes and along the streams, the report checks the official landslide and flood maps.
Istat, the national statistics institute, counts 2,281 residents in 2023, down 12.0% since 2011. The average age is 50.3, above the 46.8 of the province of Sondrio, and foreign residents make up 1.6%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.
For earthquakes the municipality is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department scale, like 63 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.106 g. In stone houses it is still worth checking floors and roof, which carry the weight of snow every winter.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report reaches the plot from the address.
Key points
- Main village of the Valmalenco, north of Sondrio.
- Winter and summer tourism, many holiday homes.
- Climate zone F: long winters, snow and heating costs.
- Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.106 g.
Overview
Chiesa in Valmalenco is a municipality in the province of Sondrio, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,281 residents, ranked 26 of 77 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Chiesa in Valmalenco is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (64 of 77) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.106 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 12.0%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (47). 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 1.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Chiesa in Valmalenco declared an average taxable income of 22,005 euros, below the provincial average (23,822 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Chiesa in Valmalenco is in climate zone F, with 3,433 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 960 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Chiesa in Valmalenco has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 3 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.
There are 1.8 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (1.0).
Public transport
The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Chiesa in Valmalenco.
How built-up it is
Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 1.4% of the land in Chiesa in Valmalenco, compared with 2.7% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Chiesa in Valmalenco is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia 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 Chiesa in Valmalenco.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Chiesa in Valmalenco: 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 Chiesa in Valmalenco 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 23 inhabited census areas in Chiesa in Valmalenco. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 9.1%
- good 90.9%
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.
- Public transport timetables (GTFS): Trenord, Regione Lombardia - Trenord, orari ferroviari (GTFS). Licence CC BY 4.0, version 20261111.
- 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 Lombardia, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Lombardia. Licence CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio), updated to 15 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 014019. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.