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Urbe: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Urbe

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 Marasca 1, Urbe.

Urbe, the hamlets of the upper Orba valley

Urbe is a municipality of scattered hamlets in the upper Orba valley, on the side of the Ligurian Apennines that faces Piedmont, among woods and meadows. San Pietro d'Olba, Martina Olba and Vara are some of the settlements it is split into, each with its own road and houses.

For a house hunter, this layout matters. The distances between hamlets are not short, and services are spread across several of them. Bars and restaurants number 13.89 per 1,000 residents, against 9.81 in the province of Savona. A number of houses are used in summer, and anyone thinking of living here all year should consider the winter, in heating zone E, and the mountain roads down to the coast.

In 2023 there were 648 residents, down 15.7% on the 769 of 2011. The average age is 56.1, against 49.7 in the province, and over-65s make up 36.9% of residents, compared with 30.0%. Foreign residents are 4.5%. Average declared income is below the provincial average.

Earthquake hazard is low. Most municipalities in the province of Savona are in zone 3; Urbe is among the 19 in zone 4, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.056 g. In stone houses, the roof, damp and the systems matter more.

Near streams and on slopes, flood and landslide hazard are read for the individual address on the official maps, because conditions change from one hamlet to the next. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes Urbe's cadastral maps, so the report traces the land parcel from the address.

Key points

  • Municipality of scattered hamlets in the upper Orba valley.
  • Bars and restaurants: 13.89 per 1,000 residents.
  • 648 residents, down 15.7% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, expected acceleration about 0.056 g.

Overview

Urbe is a municipality in the province of Savona, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 648 residents, ranked 52 of 69 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Urbe is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Only 19 of 69 municipalities in the province are in zone 4.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.056 g, a moderate 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 15.7%. The estimated average age is 56 years, higher than the province average (50). 37% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 4.5% of the population. On average, a household has 1.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Urbe declared an average taxable income of 22,021 euros, below the provincial average (24,469 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Urbe is in climate zone E, with 2,658 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 540 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Urbe has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets and 1 green area.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.9 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 Urbe, compared with 6.7% in the province and 7.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Urbe is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Liguria in 2026. 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 Urbe.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Urbe: 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 Urbe 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 21 inhabited census areas in Urbe. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 95.3%
  • good 4.7%

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 009063. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.