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Opi: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Opi

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 San Giovanni 1, Opi.

Opi, a hilltop village above Val Fondillo in the Abruzzo National Park

Opi is one of the villages of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, perched on a spur at over 1,200 metres above the upper Sangro valley. The Val Fondillo starts within its boundaries, a park valley popular with walkers and families, and all around are beech woods, pastures and mountains. Pescasseroli, close by, is the largest town in the area for services and schools.

Tourism weighs heavily in the local economy: restaurants, holiday lets, rooms to rent. For buyers this means a market made up largely of second homes and properties let out in summer and at weekends. National park and municipal rules affect extensions and renovations, so find out before you buy. It is climate zone F, with long, snowy winters.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 377 residents in 2023, 11.9% fewer than the 428 of 2011. The estimated average age is 51.6, against 47.5 in the province of L'Aquila, and over-65s make up 33.7%. Households average 2.02 people and declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The upper Sangro valley is in seismic zone 1, the highest class on the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 102 other municipalities in the province; expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.261 g. With stone houses in the village, a structural survey is needed before buying, and ask for records of any strengthening work.

Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report finds the land parcel from the address, with slope maps read at that spot.

Key points

  • Village in the Abruzzo National Park, above the upper Sangro valley.
  • 377 residents in 2023, down 11.9% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 1, the highest, acceleration about 0.261 g.
  • Check national park rules before extending or renovating.

Overview

Opi is a municipality in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo. At the end of 2023 it had 377 residents, ranked 85 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Opi is in seismic zone 1, the highest-risk zone, where very strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (103 of 108) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.261 g, a high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Opi, 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 11.9%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (48). 34% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 3.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Opi declared an average taxable income of 19,398 euros, below the provincial average (22,903 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Opi is in climate zone F, with 3,526 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,250 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Opi has 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 sports facilities and 4 parks and green areas.

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 0.9% of the land in Opi, compared with 3.2% 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 Opi.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Opi: 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 Opi 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 Opi. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 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 066061. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.