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Tornaco: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Tornaco

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 Iv Novembre 1, Tornaco.

Tornaco, on the lower Novara plain towards the Lomellina

Tornaco has lost few residents in recent years: at the end of 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 852, 24 fewer than in 2011, down 2.7%. The municipality lies on the lower Novara plain in Piedmont, south of Novara and close to the border with the province of Pavia, among rice fields, poplar plantations and irrigation canals.

Novara is the main town for work, hospital and secondary schools, and across the provincial border are the towns of the Lomellina. Homes are mainly village houses, farm courtyards and detached houses, with few blocks of flats; if you want space you will easily find courtyards and rural buildings, which need a careful look at renovation costs.

On the population: average age 49.0, against 46.7 for the province, over-65s at 28.1% and foreign residents at 3.9%. Households average 2.21 people. Average declared incomes are close to the provincial figure.

The irrigated plain has its own issues: rising damp in old walls, ditches and channels near the houses, fog in winter. Flood hazard should be checked for the address, and the report reads it from the official maps. The climate is zone E, with cold winters, so look closely at the energy rating and the boiler.

Earthquakes are not a major worry in the province of Novara: all 87 municipalities are in seismic zone 4, the lowest, and in Tornaco the expected ground acceleration is about 0.039 g. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, so from the address the report identifies the land parcel and building.

Key points

  • Lower Novara plain, near the border with the province of Pavia.
  • 852 residents, down 2.7% since 2011.
  • All 87 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 4.
  • Rural buildings and courtyards: weigh renovation costs carefully.

Overview

Tornaco is a municipality in the province of Novara, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 852 residents, ranked 72 of 87 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Tornaco is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 87 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.039 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 2.7%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 3.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Tornaco declared an average taxable income of 26,308 euros, in line with the province (26,949 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Tornaco is in climate zone E, with 2,463 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 122 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Tornaco has 1 school and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets.

The data shows no healthcare facilities 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 4.4% of the land in Tornaco, compared with 11.2% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Tornaco 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 open contaminated sites in Tornaco; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Tornaco: 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 Tornaco 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 8 inhabited census areas in Tornaco. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 10.7%
  • good 89.3%

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

ISTAT code 003146. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.