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Mese: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Mese

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 Don Primo Lucchinetti 1, Mese.

Mese, the valley floor of Valchiavenna near Chiavenna

Mese is a small municipality in Valchiavenna, in the province of Sondrio, on the floor of the Mera valley a short distance from Chiavenna. The centre is at about 270 metres, on flat ground, with compact housing and the steep, wooded mountainsides behind. The flat valley floor is the most built-up part, with homes, services and businesses.

Chiavenna is the reference for schools, the hospital and the railway station; Switzerland is close, and some residents work across the border or in the valley towns. The population is growing and young: 1,849 residents in 2023, up 5.8% on 2011. The average age is 43.9, against 46.8 in the province, and over-65s are 21.1%. Foreign residents are 2.1%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The market offers recent detached houses and small blocks on the flat, and some older houses in the old core and the hamlets at the foot of the mountain. The climate zone is E: cold winters, with little sun in the shortest months in spots tucked under the slope, a detail worth checking in person.

Earthquake risk is low: Mese is in seismic zone 4, the lowest class on the Civil Protection scale, with an expected acceleration of 0.048 g.

For houses at the foot of the slopes or close to the Mera, the official maps are worth a look. The report reads the official landslide and flood maps for the address, starting from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Mera valley floor in Valchiavenna, near Chiavenna.
  • Population up 5.8% since 2011, average age 43.9.
  • Seismic zone 4, the lowest class.
  • At the foot of the slopes, check the landslide maps for the address.

Overview

Mese is a municipality in the province of Sondrio, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,849 residents, ranked 34 of 77 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mese is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Only 13 of 77 municipalities in the province are in zone 4.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.048 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 5.8%. The estimated average age is 44 years, lower than the province average (47). 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mese declared an average taxable income of 20,203 euros, below the provincial average (23,822 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Mese is in climate zone E, with 2,459 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 274 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mese 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 0.5 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

The open timetables available for the area do not list any stops within the territory of Mese.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 15.7% of the land in Mese, compared with 2.7% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Mese is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is high. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Mese. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Mese: 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 Mese 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 6 inhabited census areas in Mese. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 5.6%
  • good 94.4%

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 014043. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.