Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Pila: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Pila

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 Roma 1, Pila.

Pila, a village in the middle Valsesia on the river Sesia

First, a point worth making for anyone searching online: this Pila is not the ski resort above Aosta, but a small municipality in the Valsesia, in the province of Vercelli. It lies on the valley floor along the river Sesia, in the middle stretch of the valley, at around six hundred and eighty metres, with woods and mountains on both sides.

Its position on the valley's main road is its strength: downhill you reach Varallo and the towns with schools and services, uphill the mountain resorts of the upper Valsesia. The climate is zone F, with long, cold winters. Many houses are stone; near the river and the side streams, check the flood hazard maps carefully.

The population has held up: Istat, the national statistics office, counted 139 residents in 2023, 1.5% more than the 137 of 2011. The average age is 48.5, practically the same as the province (48.4), and over-65s make up 26.6%. Declared incomes are in line with the provincial average.

Earthquakes are not a major concern. The municipality is in seismic zone 4 of the national classification, like 81 of the 82 municipalities in the province of Vercelli, and expected ground acceleration is about 0.052 g.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps. From the address the report identifies the land parcel and checks the official maps for flood-prone areas along the Sesia and landslide hazard on the slopes.

Key points

  • Valsesia village on the Sesia, not to be confused with Pila near Aosta.
  • 139 residents in 2023, up 1.5% since 2011.
  • Average age 48.5, the same as the provincial average.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.052 g.

Overview

Pila is a municipality in the province of Vercelli, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 139 residents, among the smallest in the province (74 of 82).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pila is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (81 of 82) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.052 g, a moderate 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 1.5%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 3.6% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pila declared an average taxable income of 24,476 euros, in line with the province (24,991 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Pila is in climate zone F, with 3,196 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 686 metres above sea level.

Services

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 1.7% of the land in Pila, compared with 5.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Pila 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 no contaminated sites in Pila.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Pila: 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 Pila 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 5 inhabited census areas in Pila. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 54 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 20.1%
  • fair 79.9%

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 002096. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.