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Dernice: 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

Search for an address in Dernice

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 Vigoponzo 1, Dernice.

Dernice, an Apennine village behind Tortona

Dernice lies in the Apennine hills behind Tortona, in south-eastern Piedmont, at around 600 metres, where the gentle hills of the plain give way to steeper, wooded slopes. The municipality is a small centre with scattered hamlets linked by narrow provincial roads. Tortona, down on the plain, remains the reference town for the hospital, secondary schools and trains.

Residents here are old: the estimated average age is 56.4, against 48.9 in the province of Alessandria, and over-65s make up 39.5%. Households average just 1.54 people, so many residents live alone. In 2023 there were 177 residents, down 15.7% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, and foreign residents account for 5.1%.

The market is made up of stone houses, farmsteads and outbuildings, often with land and woodland. In the Apennines, check the stability of the ground around the house, drainage, the state of the roof and winter access, as well as connections to mains water and sewerage. Climate zone E means cold winters, so efficient heating and good insulation make a difference. You will need a car for any service.

Dernice is in seismic zone 3 under the Civil Protection classification, like 127 of the 187 municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.096 g. With a stone house, it helps to know whether walls and floors were tied together during renovation.

On Apennine slopes landslides are assessed plot by plot: the report checks the official landslide and flood maps for the address and finds the land parcel on the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Apennine hills behind Tortona, at around 600 metres.
  • Average age 56.4, over-65s at 39.5%.
  • 177 residents in 2023, households of 1.54 people.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.096 g.

Overview

Dernice is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 177 residents, among the smallest in the province (176 of 187).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Dernice 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 0.096 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 15.7%. The estimated average age is 56 years, higher than the province average (49). 40% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 5.1% of the population. On average, a household has 1.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Dernice declared an average taxable income of 24,735 euros, in line with the province (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Dernice is in climate zone E, with 2,986 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 600 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.0 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 2.0% of the land in Dernice, 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

Dernice 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 no contaminated sites in Dernice.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Dernice: 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 Dernice 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 20 inhabited census areas in Dernice. 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 006066. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.