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Rocchetta Ligure: 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 Rocchetta Ligure

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 Umberto Primo 1, Rocchetta Ligure.

Rocchetta Ligure, in the Borbera valley despite its name

Despite its name, Rocchetta Ligure is in Piedmont, in the province of Alessandria, not in Liguria. It lies in the Val Borbera, in the Apennines between southern Piedmont and the Ligurian coast, at about three hundred and ninety metres. The valley runs down to the Scrivia valley, where the railway and motorway between Genoa and Milan pass, and from there people reach the bigger towns for work and services.

The village is small but not shrinking. Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 220 residents in 2023, against 210 in 2011, a rise of 4.8%. With numbers this small, a few families are enough to reverse the trend. The estimated average age is 52.0, against 48.9 in the province, over-65s make up 30.5% and foreign residents 12.3%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Buyers in the Val Borbera mostly find stone houses in the villages and hamlets, many needing renovation, and a few newer homes along the valley road. The useful checks are the usual Apennine ones: roof, damp, wiring and plumbing, and access in the cold months. For houses near the Borbera stream or its tributaries, position relative to flood-prone areas matters, and the report checks it on the official maps together with landslide hazard on the slopes.

Rocchetta Ligure is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department's scale, like 127 of the 187 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.097 g in the built-up area. In old stone houses, ask a surveyor how walls and floors are tied together. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report links the address to its land parcel.

Key points

  • Val Borbera village, in Piedmont despite the name.
  • 220 residents in 2023, up 4.8% since 2011.
  • Houses near the Borbera: check the flood-prone areas.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.097 g.

Overview

Rocchetta Ligure is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 220 residents, among the smallest in the province (169 of 187).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rocchetta Ligure 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 0.097 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 grown by 4.8%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (49). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 12.3% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rocchetta Ligure declared an average taxable income of 21,977 euros, below the provincial average (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rocchetta Ligure is in climate zone E, with 2,784 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 390 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rocchetta Ligure has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 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 2.3% of the land in Rocchetta Ligure, 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

Rocchetta Ligure 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 Rocchetta Ligure.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Rocchetta Ligure: 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 Rocchetta Ligure 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 12 inhabited census areas in Rocchetta Ligure. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 56 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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 006148. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.