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Portula: 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 Portula

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: Frazione Castagnea 1, Portula.

Portula, hamlets and woodland in eastern Biella

The eastern part of the Biella area is a land of high hills and low mountains, shaped by more than a century of wool manufacturing, and Portula belongs to it, with its centre at around 600 metres and several hamlets scattered among the woods. The landscape is green and steep, with stone houses and narrow roads, and part of the territory is covered with beech and chestnut.

Buying here means choosing a village or hamlet house, often with a piece of land, in a quiet but out-of-the-way place. For work and services people look to the industrial towns of the area and to Biella, reachable only by car. The climate zone is F: winters are long, so ask the seller about heating costs along with the energy rating. Declared incomes are slightly below the provincial average.

There were 1,109 residents in 2023, down 18.8% since 2011 (256 fewer). The average age is high, 52.3 against 49.7 for the province, and over-65s make up 34.2%. Foreign nationals are 4.1%.

Portula is in seismic zone 4, the lowest class, like 49 other municipalities around Biella, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.044 g. In older mountain houses, the likely costs are the roof, damp and the wiring and heating rather than the structure.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, and the report goes from the address to the land parcel. On sloping land cut by streams, it is worth reading the official landslide and flood maps for the exact address, because conditions differ from one hamlet to another.

Key points

  • Eastern Biella area, centre at about 600 metres, hamlets in the woods.
  • Residents down 18.8% since 2011.
  • Average age 52.3, against 49.7 in the province.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration 0.044 g.

Overview

Portula is a municipality in the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 1,109 residents, ranked 37 of 74 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Portula is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (50 of 74) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.044 g, a low 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 fallen by 18.8%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (50). 34% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 4.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Portula declared an average taxable income of 23,904 euros, in line with the province (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Portula is in climate zone F, with 3,129 heating degree days, with no limits on when heating may be used. The same table puts the town hall at 634 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Portula has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 green area.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 4.1% of the land in Portula, 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

Portula 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 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 Portula.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Portula: 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 Portula 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 Portula. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 40.6%
  • good 59.4%

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 096048. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.