Santo Stefano Belbo: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Cuneo, Piemonte. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Santo Stefano Belbo
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: Corso Piave 1, Santo Stefano Belbo.
Santo Stefano Belbo, Pavese's birthplace in moscato country
Cesare Pavese was born here, and the hills of Santo Stefano Belbo are the ones in his novels, starting with The Moon and the Bonfires. The town sits in the Belbo valley, where the Langhe meet the Canelli area, and it lives mainly from vineyards: the surrounding hills are planted with moscato grapes, with wineries large and small and an industry tied to wine and sparkling wine. The writer's birthplace and the foundation named after him are the most visited sights.
Buyers find two worlds. On the valley floor are the centre, newer houses and businesses along the valley road; on the hills there are farmhouses and rural homes, often with a vineyard or land around them. With these, what matters is winter access, the state of roofs and walls and whether extensions have planning consent. Average declared incomes are below the average for the province of Cuneo.
In 2023 there were 3,756 residents, down 11.7% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 48.8 against 46.3 in the province, and over-65s make up 28.8%. Foreign residents account for 10.9%.
Seismic hazard is low: the municipality is in zone 4 of the Civil Protection classification, with an expected acceleration of about 0.046 g. Climate zone E brings cold winters, often foggy on the valley floor.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps. The valley floor lies close to the Belbo and the hills have marly slopes, so the report checks the official flood and landslide maps for the address, the two most useful checks here.
Key points
- Birthplace of Cesare Pavese, in the Belbo valley.
- 3,756 residents in 2023, foreign residents at 10.9%.
- Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.046 g.
- Belbo below, marly slopes above: floods and landslides per address.
Overview
Santo Stefano Belbo is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 3,756 residents, ranked 33 of 247 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santo Stefano Belbo is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Only 106 of 247 municipalities in the province are in zone 4.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.046 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 11.7%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (46). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 10.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santo Stefano Belbo declared an average taxable income of 22,970 euros, below the provincial average (24,913 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santo Stefano Belbo is in climate zone E, with 2,563 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 170 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santo Stefano Belbo has 3 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities and 3 sports facilities.
There are 0.8 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (1.1).
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 8.2% of the land in Santo Stefano Belbo, compared with 5.3% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
Santo Stefano Belbo 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 Santo Stefano Belbo.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santo Stefano Belbo: 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 Santo Stefano Belbo 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 47 inhabited census areas in Santo Stefano Belbo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 3.5%
- fair 58.2%
- good 38.3%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Radon priority areas (Legislative Decree 101/2020), Regione Piemonte, national list compiled by ARPA Lombardia. Licence Atto pubblico (art. 5 L. 633/1941), 2023.
- Contaminated sites, Regione Piemonte, Anagrafe regionale dei siti contaminati (ASCO). Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 9 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 004213. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.