Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Piuro: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Piuro

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 Nazionale Borgonuovo 1, Piuro.

Piuro, the Italian Val Bregaglia between Chiavenna and Switzerland

From Chiavenna, the Maloja road climbs the Val Bregaglia along the Mera river, and the first stretch, up to the Swiss border at Castasegna, is the municipality of Piuro. It is a narrow valley between high mountains, with hamlets spread along the valley floor and up the slopes, including Borgonuovo with the Acquafraggia waterfalls and Prosto with the Palazzo Vertemate Franchi.

For buyers, the location works in two directions. Chiavenna is a few minutes away for services, schools and trains towards Milan, and Switzerland is just over the border, with the Engadine reached over the Maloja pass. Homes range from stone houses in the hamlets, often with thick walls and slate-slab roofs, to newer detached houses. In such a narrow valley, sunlight and winter access vary a lot from one hamlet to the next.

In 2023 there were 1,901 residents, according to Istat, the national statistics office, down 2.5% on 2011. The average age is 45.7, a little below the 46.8 of the province of Sondrio, and over-65s are 23.6%. Foreign residents are 2.7%. Incomes declared in Italy are below the provincial average.

For earthquakes, Piuro is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection scale, like 63 other municipalities in the province, with an expected acceleration of 0.053 g. In an Alpine valley, landslides and stream floods weigh more: the report reads the official maps for the address, and they are worth seeing before choosing a house.

The climate is zone E, with long winters. The Revenue Agency publishes cadastral maps and the report finds the land parcel from the address.

Key points

  • Italian Val Bregaglia, from Chiavenna to the Swiss border.
  • Acquafraggia waterfalls and Palazzo Vertemate Franchi.
  • Population down 2.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.053 g.

Overview

Piuro is a municipality in the province of Sondrio, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,901 residents, ranked 32 of 77 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Piuro is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (64 of 77) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.053 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 2.5%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 2.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Piuro declared an average taxable income of 19,996 euros, below the provincial average (23,822 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Piuro is in climate zone E, with 2,496 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 382 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Piuro has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 1 sports facility.

There are 1.6 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (1.0).

Public transport

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

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 0.9% of the land in Piuro, compared with 2.7% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Piuro is one of the municipalities designated as a radon priority area 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 Piuro.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Piuro: 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 Piuro 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 15 inhabited census areas in Piuro. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 51.2%
  • good 48.8%

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 014050. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.