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Ovada: 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 Ovada

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: Corso Saracco 2, Ovada.

Ovada, where the Stura meets the Orba in the Alto Monferrato

Two mountain rivers come down from the Ligurian Apennines and join just below Ovada: the Stura, from the valley that leads towards Genoa, and the Orba. The old town, with narrow alleys and tall houses that feel more Ligurian than Piedmontese, fills the corner between them. For centuries Ovada looked to Genoa, and the Ligurian capital is still less than an hour away thanks to the junction on the A26 motorway. Around the town rise the hills of Dolcetto di Ovada, a local red wine, dotted with vineyards and farmhouses.

For the villages in the surrounding valleys, Ovada is where people go to school, see a doctor and do their shopping, and the figures bear this out: 1.20 schools per 1,000 residents against 1.01 in the province of Alessandria, 1.02 health facilities against 0.70, and more bars, restaurants and supermarkets than the provincial average.

The population, however, is falling and ageing. Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 10,816 residents in 2023, down 7.4% since 2011. The estimated average age is 50.1, above the 48.9 of a province that is already old, and over-65s account for 31.7%. Households are small, 2.00 people on average, and foreign residents make up 10.6%. Many of the flats that come up for sale belong to elderly owners, often in buildings with no lift or with services that need replacing.

Earthquakes carry little weight here. In the classification of the Civil Protection department, Ovada is in seismic zone 3 like 126 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.072 g in the built-up area. Winters are cold, so the roof, windows and boiler matter more.

The real issue is water. In 1935 a dam upstream, near Molare, gave way and sent a flood wave down the Orba that killed many people in Ovada. The two rivers can still rise within hours during heavy autumn rain. For a house near the embankments or in the lower part of town, the report checks the flood hazard maps at the address, and the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps lead it to the plot.

Key points

  • Where the Stura meets the Orba, with the A26 to Genoa.
  • 10,816 residents, down 7.4% since 2011.
  • Over-65s 31.7%, province 28.6%.
  • Seismic zone 3; near the rivers, check flood hazard.

Overview

Ovada is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 10,816 residents, among the most populous in the province (7 of 187).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Ovada 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 0.072 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 7.4%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 10.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Ovada declared an average taxable income of 25,303 euros, in line with the province (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Ovada is in climate zone E, with 2,541 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 186 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Ovada has 13 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 11 healthcare facilities, 13 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.

There are 1.0 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).

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 11.3% of the land in Ovada, compared with 7.2% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.2 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Ovada is not among the radon priority areas designated 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Ovada, and 4 more have been cleaned up or closed. 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 Ovada: 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 Ovada 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 68 inhabited census areas in Ovada. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.8%
  • fair 64.0%
  • good 34.2%

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 006121. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.