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Donato: 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 Donato

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, Donato.

Donato, a mid-mountain village near Biella

At over 700 metres, on the first mountains of the Biella area, Donato is in climate zone F: long winters, a chance of snow and the heating on for many months. That is the first thing to weigh up with a house here, even before the price, because it shows up in the bills every year. Biella is reached by car, for work, secondary schools and the hospital.

The older buildings are stone, with thick walls and roofs that carry the weight of snow in winter; alongside them are detached houses built in recent decades. With either, ask for the energy performance certificate, the age of the boiler and what work has been done on the roof and windows. The report adds elevation, slope and the official landslide and flood maps for the exact point of the address.

In 2023 there were 688 residents, against 719 in 2011: a modest fall of 4.3%. The estimated average age is 51.4, slightly above the 49.7 of the province of Biella; over-65s are 31.7%, against 30.1% in the province as a whole. Foreign residents make up 2.2%. Average declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Earthquake risk is low. Donato is in seismic zone 3, like 23 other municipalities in the province, while 50 are in zone 4, the lowest. Expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.044 g. In older houses, damp, insulation and the state of the wiring and plumbing matter more than the structure.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps for Donato, and the report uses them to link the address to the building.

Key points

  • Village above 700 metres, climate zone F: long winters.
  • 688 residents, down 4.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.044 g.
  • Over-65s at 31.7%, foreign residents at 2.2%.

Overview

Donato is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 688 residents, ranked 49 of 74 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Donato is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 24 of 74 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.044 g, a low 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 4.3%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (50). 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 2.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Donato declared an average taxable income of 21,945 euros, below the provincial average (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Donato is in climate zone F, with 3,229 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 711 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Donato has 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.2 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 4.5% of the land in Donato, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Donato 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 no contaminated sites in Donato.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Donato: 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 Donato 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 13 inhabited census areas in Donato. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 58 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 096024. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.