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Cossato: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Cossato

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 Martiri della Liberta' 1, Cossato.

Cossato, south-east of Biella between plain and hills

About ten kilometres south-east of Biella, where the hills of the wool valleys open out towards the plain, Cossato is one of the larger towns in the Biella area. It grew in the twentieth century with the textile industry that shaped this part of Piedmont, and still serves the surrounding villages with shops, schools and healthcare: Overture Maps records 14 healthcare facilities, more per resident than the provincial average.

For getting about there is the Biella to Novara railway, with a station in town, as well as the road to Biella. The housing market reflects a province that is losing people: plenty of choice, many detached houses and 1960s and 1970s flats, and low prices compared with the parts of Piedmont closer to Turin or Milan. That helps buyers, but allow for renovation and heating costs, because winters are cold and many buildings are poorly insulated.

There are 13,891 residents in 2023, 6.2% fewer than in 2011. The Biella area is among the oldest provinces in Italy: here the average age is 49.8 and over-65s make up 30.6%, against 26.6% for Piedmont. Foreign residents account for 7.0%.

Seismic hazard is low, zone 4 with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.040 g, as in 49 other municipalities in the province. The condition of the house matters more: roof, windows, boiler and energy certificate.

The streams coming down from the valleys can rise quickly in heavy rain, as this part of Piedmont has seen several times. For homes near watercourses, the report checks the flood maps for the address.

Key points

  • South-east of Biella, station on the Biella-Novara line.
  • Over-65s at 30.6%, in one of Italy's oldest provinces.
  • Population down 6.2% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4: insulation and heating matter more.

Overview

Cossato is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 13,891 residents, the second most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Cossato is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (50 of 74) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.040 g, a low 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 resident population has fallen by 6.2%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 7.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Cossato declared an average taxable income of 24,564 euros, in line with the province (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Cossato is in climate zone E, with 2,633 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 253 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Cossato has 10 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 10 grocery shops and supermarkets, 14 healthcare facilities, 8 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.2 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.4).

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 17.2% of the land in Cossato, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 4.6 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Cossato 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 Cossato, and 6 more have 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 Cossato: 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 Cossato 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 72 inhabited census areas in Cossato. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 64 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.2%
  • fair 56.1%
  • good 43.6%

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 096020. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.