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Ornica: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Ornica

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 Fratelli Calvi 1, Ornica.

Ornica, a side valley of the upper Val Brembana

To reach Ornica you leave the floor of the Val Brembana and climb a narrow, wooded side valley to the village, at over nine hundred metres. Around it are hay meadows, mountain huts and the paths leading towards the Orobie Alps. This is mountain country in the full sense, with long climate zone F winters and a landscape that changes a great deal from one season to the next.

People buying in Ornica usually want a summer house or a hut to restore. Living here all year takes a car and the patience to drive down the valley for schools, shops and services; Bergamo is too far for a daily commute. In stone houses check the roof, insulation and heating, and for huts outside the village, access, water supply and drainage.

The population is small and elderly: Istat, the national statistics office, counted 133 residents in 2023, 22.7% fewer than the 172 of 2011. Over-65s make up 43.6%, against 22.5% in the province of Bergamo, and the average age is 56.7. Households average 1.60 people. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

All 243 municipalities in the province of Bergamo are in seismic zone 3 of the national classification, and in Ornica the expected ground acceleration is about 0.054 g. In a valley this narrow, slopes and streams matter more.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps. The report starts from the address, finds the land parcel and checks the official landslide and watercourse maps for that spot.

Key points

  • Mountain village in a side valley of the upper Val Brembana.
  • 133 residents in 2023, over-65s at 43.6%.
  • Average age 56.7, against 45.2 in the province.
  • All 243 Bergamo municipalities in seismic zone 3.

Overview

Ornica is a municipality in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 133 residents, among the smallest in the province (238 of 243).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Ornica is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. All 243 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.054 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 22.7%. The estimated average age is 57 years, higher than the province average (45). 44% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 3.0% of the population. On average, a household has 1.6 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Ornica declared an average taxable income of 20,148 euros, below the provincial average (26,939 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Ornica is in climate zone F, with 3,379 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 922 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.9 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

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

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 0.8% of the land in Ornica, compared with 12.0% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Ornica is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 Ornica.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Ornica: 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 Ornica 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 3 inhabited census areas in Ornica. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 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 016151. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.