Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Garbagna: 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 Garbagna

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 Quattordici Marzo 1, Garbagna.

Garbagna, the Grue valley and its cherries

Garbagna is known for a cherry, the Bella di Garbagna, grown on the hills of the Grue valley behind Tortona. The village is a hill settlement with a compact old centre, houses of stone and brick, and land of woods, meadows and orchards rising towards the Apennines.

Tortona is the place for work, secondary schools, the hospital and trains, reached by car down the valley. Buyers find houses in the village, often in need of work, and rural properties in the countryside. For the latter, the access road, slope and ground stability matter: the report measures elevation and gradient at the address and checks the official landslide and flood maps, useful near the Grue stream too.

The population is old, with an average age of 52.0 against 48.9 in the province of Alessandria and over-65s at 33.9%. In 2023 there were 617 residents, 12.7% fewer than in 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics institute; foreign residents make up 11.8%. There are 14.59 bars and restaurants per 1,000 residents, against 5.20 in the province.

Earthquake hazard is moderate. Garbagna is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection (Protezione Civile) classification, like 127 of the 187 municipalities in the province, and expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.095 g. For a stone house in the village, ask whether work has been done on the walls, floors and roof, and under which permits.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes Garbagna's cadastral maps, so the report goes from the address to the land parcel, useful for seeing how much land comes with the house.

Key points

  • Grue valley village above Tortona, home of the Bella di Garbagna cherry.
  • 617 residents, down 12.7% since 2011.
  • Average age 52.0, against 48.9 in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.095 g.

Overview

Garbagna is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 617 residents, ranked 101 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Garbagna 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 0.095 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 12.7%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (49). 34% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 11.8% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Garbagna declared an average taxable income of 21,146 euros, below the provincial average (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Garbagna is in climate zone E, with 2,723 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 287 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Garbagna has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 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 2.7% of the land in Garbagna, 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

Garbagna 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 Garbagna.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Garbagna: 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 Garbagna 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 24 inhabited census areas in Garbagna. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 72 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 36.1%
  • good 63.9%

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 006079. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.