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Ponti: 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 Ponti

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: Regione Cravarezza 1, Ponti.

Ponti, a Bormida valley village above Acqui

Travelling up the Bormida valley from Acqui Terme towards Liguria you reach Ponti, a valley-floor and hill village in the Acqui area, province of Alessandria. The centre lies close to the river, below 200 metres, and around it the land rises into wooded hills dotted with farmhouses.

Acqui Terme is the reference town for shopping, secondary schools and hospital care, reached by car along the valley. Buyers in Ponti find village houses, often old, and isolated farmhouses in the hills. For a house in the centre, check damp and the roof; for a farmhouse, add winter access, water supply and drainage. Climate zone E brings cold, foggy winters on the valley floor.

The village has shrunk: there were 618 residents in 2011 and 495 in 2023, a fall of 19.9%, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 54.2 against 48.9 for the province, and over-65s make up 37.6% against 28.6% across the province. Foreign residents account for 7.5%. Declared incomes are close to the provincial average, just below it.

Ponti is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection department's national scale, like 127 of the 187 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.050 g in the built-up area, a low value. The big decisions here concern the upkeep of the building more than earthquakes.

Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are available and the report goes from the address to the land parcel. If you are looking at a house near the Bormida, you need to know whether the spot falls within the areas that can flood: the report reads this from the official maps, together with the landslide maps for houses in the hills.

Key points

  • Bormida valley in the Acqui area, upstream of Acqui Terme.
  • Population down 19.9% since 2011, over-65s at 37.6%.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.050 g.
  • Houses near the Bormida: check the flood-prone areas.

Overview

Ponti is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 495 residents, ranked 119 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Ponti 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 0.050 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 19.9%. The estimated average age is 54 years, higher than the province average (49). 38% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 7.5% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Ponti declared an average taxable income of 24,756 euros, in line with the province (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Ponti is in climate zone E, with 2,467 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, Ponti has 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.0 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 7.0% of the land in Ponti, compared with 7.2% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Ponti 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 low. 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 Ponti.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Ponti: 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 Ponti 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 18 inhabited census areas in Ponti. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 50 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 4.4%
  • fair 95.6%

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 006134. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.