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Piedicavallo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Piedicavallo

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 Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour 1, Piedicavallo.

Piedicavallo, the last village in the Valle Cervo

At the head of the Valle Cervo, where the road from Biella ends and the footpaths to the mountain lakes and passes begin, stands Piedicavallo. The village sits just above a thousand metres, with stone houses roofed in stone slabs and a long tradition of masons and stonecutters who left the valley to work far from home. Around it there is nothing but woods, pasture and rock.

Biella is the reference for everything from hospitals to schools, and the valley road is long and winding. That makes Piedicavallo mainly a second-home village, or a place for mountain lovers willing to give up some comforts. In climate zone F, with long snowy winters, heating costs and roof upkeep are the first things to estimate. It is also worth asking how the road is kept open on snowy days.

In 2023 there were 170 residents, 33 fewer than the 203 counted by Istat, Italy's national statistics office, in 2011: a fall of 16.3%. The estimated average age is 54.6, against 49.7 in the province of Biella, and over-65s make up 34.7%.

The province has municipalities in two seismic zones. Piedicavallo is in zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, with 23 other municipalities around Biella, and the expected ground acceleration is about 0.050 g. In the upper valley the steep slopes and the stream matter more, and the report checks them on the official landslide and flood maps for the individual address. Revenue Agency cadastral maps are available, and the report links the house to its land parcel.

Key points

  • Last village in the Valle Cervo, just above a thousand metres.
  • 170 residents in 2023, down 16.3% since 2011.
  • Average age 54.6, against 49.7 in the province of Biella.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.050 g.

Overview

Piedicavallo is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 170 residents, among the smallest in the province (71 of 74).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Piedicavallo is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 24 of 74 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.050 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 16.3%. The estimated average age is 55 years, higher than the province average (50). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 1.8% of the population. On average, a household has 1.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Piedicavallo declared an average taxable income of 21,971 euros, below the provincial average (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Piedicavallo is in climate zone F, with 3,669 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 1,050 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.2 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 0.7% of the land in Piedicavallo, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Piedicavallo is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Piemonte in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is very 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 no contaminated sites in Piedicavallo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Piedicavallo: 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 Piedicavallo 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 Piedicavallo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • good 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 096044. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.