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Melle: 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 Melle

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 Tre Martiri 1, Melle.

Melle, in the lower Valle Varaita

The Valle Varaita climbs from Saluzzo towards Monte Viso and the French border, and is one of the Occitan-speaking valleys of the Cuneo area. Melle lies in the lower and middle stretch of the valley, with its centre at around six hundred and eighty metres and hamlets spread over both slopes among chestnut woods, meadows and stone settlements. Saluzzo is the town for secondary schools, hospital and work; Cuneo is further away.

In 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 299 residents, 27 fewer than in 2011, a fall of 8.3%. Over-65s make up 33.4%, against 25.1% for the province of Cuneo, and the estimated average age is 49.4. Households average 1.72 people, so many are one- or two-person households. Foreign residents account for 5.7%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

Valley houses are stone-built, with stone-slab or metal roofs, wooden balconies and vaulted ground-floor rooms. If you are buying in a hamlet, look at sun exposure, which varies a lot between one side of the valley and the other, the access road in winter, and the roof. In climate zone F winters are long and heating is a real cost.

Earthquake risk should be considered: Melle is in seismic zone 3 under the Civil Protection classification, like 141 of the 247 municipalities in the province, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.136 g, a moderate value. With a stone building, find out whether walls and floors were tied together during any work.

On the slopes and along the Varaita river, the report for the address reads the official landslide and flood maps and, using the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps, traces the land parcel.

Key points

  • Valle Varaita, one of the Occitan valleys near Cuneo.
  • 299 residents in 2023, down 8.3%.
  • Over-65s at 33.4%, against 25.1% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.136 g.

Overview

Melle is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 299 residents, ranked 180 of 247 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Melle 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 0.136 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 8.3%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 33% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 5.7% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Melle declared an average taxable income of 17,334 euros, below the provincial average (24,913 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Melle is in climate zone F, with 3,162 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 683 metres above sea level.

Services

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

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 2.2% of the land in Melle, 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

Melle is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area 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 Melle.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Melle: 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 Melle 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 19 inhabited census areas in Melle. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 75 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 7.0%
  • good 93.0%

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 004122. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.