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Lerma: 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 Lerma

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: Localita' Mascatagliata 6, Lerma.

Lerma, a castle and the hills around Ovada

The castle still dominates the centre of Lerma, a village in the Ovada area in the south of the province of Alessandria, where the Monferrato hills begin to climb towards the Ligurian Apennines. The town hall stands at about 290 metres, among vineyards, woods and streams running down from the mountains. Ovada is the local centre for services and schools, and Liguria is within driving distance over the passes.

On the market you will find stone houses in the village, farmhouses among the vines and the occasional villa. With older houses, check the roof, the timber floors and damp in walls set against the slope; winters are those of climate zone E. Near the streams and on the slopes, the report checks the official flood and landslide maps for the address.

Lerma has an older population and small households: at the end of 2023 there were 799 residents, down 8.5% since 2011, with an average age of 53.2 against 48.9 in the province and over-65s at 33.3%, according to Istat, the national statistics office. Households have 1.77 members on average, and foreign residents are 2.4%. Average declared income is a little below the provincial average.

For earthquakes, Lerma is in zone 3, like 126 other municipalities in the province of Alessandria, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.079 g. The hazard is moderate, and in stone houses what matters most is that the roof and floors are properly tied into the walls.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps for Lerma, and the report goes from the address to the land parcel.

Key points

  • Ovada-area village with a castle, at the foot of the Apennines.
  • Over-65s at 33.3%, households of 1.77 people.
  • Population down 8.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.079 g.

Overview

Lerma is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 799 residents, ranked 86 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Lerma 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 0.079 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 8.5%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (49). 33% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 2.4% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Lerma declared an average taxable income of 23,647 euros, below the provincial average (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Lerma is in climate zone E, with 2,631 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 293 metres above sea level.

Services

In the Overture Maps data, Lerma has 2 sports facilities.

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 3.6% of the land in Lerma, 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

Lerma 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 Lerma.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Lerma: 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 Lerma 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 10 inhabited census areas in Lerma. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 59 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 006088. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.