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Verbania: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piemonte. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Verbania

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 Repubblica 1, Verbania.

Verbania, on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore

Verbania is a young town built from old places: it was created in 1939 by merging Intra and Pallanza, two communities on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore. The Borromean Islands lie offshore, and behind the town the mountains rise towards Switzerland. The botanical gardens of Villa Taranto draw visitors from all over the world, and tourism, retail and services form the backbone of the economy. Since 1992 it has been the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.

Earthquake risk is at the bottom of the scale: Verbania is in seismic zone 4, the lowest class, like 46 of the 74 municipalities in the province, with the other 28 in zone 3. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.044 g. Here other factors tend to count for more when assessing a home: general upkeep, damp in buildings close to the water, the heating and electrical systems, and energy performance.

There were 30,024 residents in 2023, just 1.0% fewer than the 30,332 of 2011, and almost one in five people in the province (19.5%) lives in Verbania. The population is older, as it is across the province: an estimated average age of nearly 49 and 28.0% of residents over 65, against 26.6% for Piedmont. Foreign nationals account for 9.2%.

Overture's open map data show a town strong on education (28 sites) and healthcare (30), both above the provincial rate per resident, with 208 cafés and restaurants. Supermarkets (16) and officially registered pharmacies (10), on the other hand, are proportionally less common than in the rest of the province. The report measures actual distances from the address.

Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cover the municipality, and the report derives the land parcel from the address. Between the lakefront, mountain streams and hillsides, flood and landslide exposure is not the same everywhere and is checked at the exact address.

Key points

  • Seismic zone 4, the lowest; expected ground acceleration about 0.044 g.
  • Town formed in 1939 by merging Intra and Pallanza.
  • 30,024 residents in 2023, almost unchanged since 2011 (-1.0%).
  • 28.0% of residents over 65, above the Piedmont average.

Overview

Verbania is the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 30,024 residents, the most populous municipality in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Verbania is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (46 of 74) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.044 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 1.0%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 9.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Verbania declared an average taxable income of 24,102 euros, in line with the province (23,146 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Verbania is in climate zone E, with 2,426 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 197 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Verbania has 28 schools and 10 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 16 grocery shops and supermarkets, 30 healthcare facilities, 31 sports facilities and 7 parks and green areas.

There are 0.5 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (1.0).

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 18.3% of the land in Verbania, compared with 2.8% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.1 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Verbania 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 7 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Verbania, and 7 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Verbania: 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 Verbania 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 407 inhabited census areas in Verbania. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.7%
  • fair 17.0%
  • good 81.4%
  • very good 0.8%

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 103072. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.