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Elva: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Elva

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: Borgata Serre Capoluogo 2, Elva.

Elva, high hamlets of the Valle Maira

Elva is a municipality of scattered hamlets high up in a side valley of the Valle Maira, with its town hall above sixteen hundred metres. This is Occitan country, and the parish church holds frescoes by Hans Clemer, the Flemish painter who worked in the Marquisate of Saluzzo in the late fifteenth century. The village is also remembered for its "caviè", men who once travelled across Italy buying hair to be made into wigs.

Buying in Elva means buying into the mountains: stone and timber houses, often in need of work, pastures all around and a long drive down to the valley floor. Elva is in climate zone F, the coldest band in the Italian heating classification, and snow lies for months, so the roof, insulation and heating come before anything else. Everyday shopping and basic services are down in the valley.

According to Istat, the national statistics office, there were 78 residents in 2023, down 17.0% since 2011. The estimated average age, 46.5, is close to the provincial figure of 46.3, and over-65s make up 19.2%, fewer than the 25.1% across the province of Cuneo. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Elva is in seismic zone 3, like 140 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.132 g. With an old house, ask whether the walls and roof have been strengthened.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps here too, and the report finds the land parcel from the address. At this altitude avalanches, landslides and mountain streams need checking house by house, and the report looks them up on the official maps for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Occitan hamlets high in the Valle Maira, town hall above 1600 metres.
  • Frescoes by Hans Clemer in the parish church.
  • 78 residents in 2023, down 17.0% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.132 g.

Overview

Elva is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 78 residents, among the smallest in the province (237 of 247).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Elva is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. The region uses a finer breakdown: here the classification is 3S. Most municipalities in the province (141 of 247) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.132 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 17.0%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 19% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 1.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Elva declared an average taxable income of 17,059 euros, below the provincial average (24,913 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Elva is in climate zone F, with 4,345 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,637 metres above sea level.

Services

In the Overture Maps data, Elva has 1 green area.

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.1 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 0.5% of the land in Elva, compared with 5.3% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Elva 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 Elva.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Elva: 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 Elva 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 16 inhabited census areas in Elva. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 66 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 37.8%
  • good 62.2%

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 004083. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.