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Portalbera: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Portalbera

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 Venti Settembre 1, Portalbera.

Portalbera, lowland Oltrepò along the Po

Between the River Po and the first hills of the Oltrepò Pavese, Portalbera is a lowland village on the right bank of the river, a short way from Stradella. The land is low, at around sixty metres, with fields and poplar plantations towards the Po and a built-up area that has spread in recent decades with detached houses and small blocks of flats.

Its main advantage is location. Stradella and Broni, where the railway and the motorway pass, are close, and from there Pavia, Piacenza and Milan are within reach for people working elsewhere. The village has 8 recorded services: for the big weekly shop, secondary schools and healthcare, people go to nearby towns.

There are 1,469 residents, down 5.3% since 2011. The average age is 46.7 (47.1 for the province) and over-65s make up 22.9%, fewer than across the province (25.2%). Foreign nationals are 10.3% of residents.

The municipality is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection scale, like 157 of the 184 municipalities in the province of Pavia, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.089 g. For a masonry house, the useful checks are the roof, the floors and damp in the walls, common near the river.

The Po is the thing to look at most carefully. The areas closest to the embankment and the lowest-lying ones may fall within flood hazard maps: the report checks the official flood maps for the address, measures the distance to services and gives the cadastral details of the land parcel.

Key points

  • Lowland village on the right bank of the Po, near Stradella.
  • 1,469 residents, down 5.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.089 g.
  • Close to the Po: check the flood maps.

Overview

Portalbera is a municipality in the province of Pavia, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,469 residents, ranked 78 of 184 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Portalbera is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (157 of 184) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.089 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 5.3%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 10.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Portalbera declared an average taxable income of 23,953 euros, below the provincial average (26,290 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Portalbera is in climate zone E, with 2,628 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 64 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Portalbera has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 sports facilities.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 per 1,000 residents.

Public transport

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

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 15.7% of the land in Portalbera, compared with 9.6% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Portalbera is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia 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 Portalbera.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Portalbera: 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 Portalbera 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 17 inhabited census areas in Portalbera. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 6.2%
  • good 93.8%

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 018118. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.