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Rocchetta Palafea: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Rocchetta Palafea

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: Piazza Giovanni Berruti 1, Rocchetta Palafea.

Rocchetta Palafea, moscato hills in southern Asti

Rocchetta Palafea sits on the hills in the south of the province of Asti, in Piedmont, above four hundred metres, in a landscape of vineyards, hazelnut groves and woods. This is moscato country, and the vines reach right up to the last houses. The village is small, gathered on a hilltop; Canelli and Nizza Monferrato are the nearest towns for services and work, and Asti and Acqui Terme are within driving distance.

People who buy here often choose a farmhouse with land or a village house with views over the hills. Before signing, find out whether the surrounding land is a working vineyard, with what restrictions and who farms it, and check the unpaved access roads, which become difficult in the rain. The brick and stone houses of the Asti hills suffer mainly from damp walls and roofs needing replacement.

Istat, Italy's national statistics office, counted 335 residents in 2023, against 347 in 2011, a modest fall of 3.5%. The estimated average age is 52.7, against 47.9 in the province of Asti, and 34.6% of residents are over 65. Foreign residents make up 12.2%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Rocchetta Palafea is in seismic zone 4, the lowest class on the Civil Protection scale, like 113 of the 117 municipalities in the province; the expected acceleration is about 0.049 g. For an older building, upkeep and the condition of the structure matter more than earthquake risk.

The marl and sand hills of the area can be unstable on the slopes. The report checks the official landslide maps for the exact address and finds the land parcel with the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Moscato hills in the south of the province of Asti.
  • Farmhouses with vines: check restrictions and access roads.
  • 335 residents in 2023, down 3.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, the lowest, acceleration about 0.049 g.

Overview

Rocchetta Palafea is a municipality in the province of Asti, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 335 residents, ranked 93 of 117 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rocchetta Palafea is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (113 of 117) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.049 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 3.5%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (48). 35% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 12.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rocchetta Palafea declared an average taxable income of 20,179 euros, below the provincial average (24,302 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rocchetta Palafea is in climate zone E, with 2,837 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 423 metres above sea level.

Services

The data shows no schools within the municipality, against a provincial average of 1.1 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 Rocchetta Palafea, compared with 7.3% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Rocchetta Palafea 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 Rocchetta Palafea.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Rocchetta Palafea: 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 Palafea 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 4 inhabited census areas in Rocchetta Palafea. 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 005095. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.