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Fraine: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Fraine

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: Viale Umberto Primo 1, Fraine.

Fraine, a village in the hills of upper Vastese

In the Alto Vastese, the inland, mountainous part of the province of Chieti towards Molise, Fraine stands on a rise at about seven hundred and fifty metres, its central houses gathered around the upper part and fields and woods all round. It is a farming village away from the busy roads, in a landscape of high hills and narrow valleys.

The population has fallen sharply here, and anyone thinking of buying should take that into account. Services are few, there is a pharmacy, and for schools, hospital and work people travel to the larger towns of the area or as far as Vasto and the coast. Roads are long and mountainous. Many houses in the centre are old stone buildings, to be checked for roof, damp and wiring and plumbing; the climate zone is E.

Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 257 residents in 2023, against 396 in 2011, a fall of 35.1%. The estimated average age is 55.3, well above the 47.4 of the province of Chieti, and over-65s make up 39.7% against 26.4%. Foreign residents account for 1.6%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

Fraine is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 55 of the 104 municipalities in the province, and expected acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.137 g. For a stone building, you need information on structural work and on the quality of renovations. On the clay slopes of the interior, the report checks the official landslide maps for the address, starting from the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Farming village in upper Vastese, at about seven hundred and fifty metres.
  • 257 residents in 2023, down 35.1% since 2011.
  • Average age 55.3, against 47.4 in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.137 g.

Overview

Fraine is a municipality in the province of Chieti, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 257 residents, among the smallest in the province (94 of 104).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Fraine is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (55 of 104) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.137 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Fraine, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 35.1%. The estimated average age is 55 years, higher than the province average (47). 40% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). 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 Fraine declared an average taxable income of 14,533 euros, below the provincial average (21,427 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Fraine is in climate zone E, with 2,370 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 751 metres above sea level.

Services

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

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 2.5% of the land in Fraine, compared with 6.4% in the province and 5.1% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 Fraine.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Fraine: 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 Fraine 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 2 inhabited census areas in Fraine. 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 069034. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.