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Volpedo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Volpedo

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 Cavour 1, Volpedo.

Volpedo, Pellizza's village in the Val Curone

Volpedo is the village of the painter Giuseppe Pellizza, who took its name and painted The Fourth Estate here; his studio and the places in the picture can still be visited. It lies at the mouth of the Val Curone, at around 180 metres, a few kilometres from Tortona, where the plain meets the first foothills of the Apennines. Orchards, peaches above all, vines and fields surround it.

Tortona is the town for schools, the hospital and the railway station, and from there motorways run to Milan and Genoa. The village has a compact historic centre of brick houses, some with courtyards, surrounded by newer houses and rural homes. In old houses check the roof, damp in the walls and the systems; in farmsteads, also whether later additions have planning permission.

Istat, the national statistics office, counted 1,137 residents in 2023, 6.2% fewer than in 2011. The average age is 49.7, close to the 48.9 of the province of Alessandria, and 29.9% of residents are over 65. Foreign residents make up 12.8%. Declared incomes are in line with the provincial average.

The municipality is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department scale, like 127 of the 187 municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of 0.091 g. For an old masonry building it is still worth asking whether the structure has been assessed.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, so the report goes from the address to the land parcel. Flooding near the Curone stream and landslides on the hills are checked on the official maps for the exact spot.

Key points

  • Birthplace of the painter Pellizza, at the mouth of the Val Curone.
  • Orchards and peaches, a few kilometres from Tortona.
  • Foreign residents 12.8%, average age 49.7.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.091 g.

Overview

Volpedo is a municipality in the province of Alessandria, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 1,137 residents, ranked 67 of 187 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Volpedo is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (127 of 187) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.091 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 6.2%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 12.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Volpedo declared an average taxable income of 24,819 euros, in line with the province (25,143 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Volpedo is in climate zone E, with 2,635 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 182 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Volpedo has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 sports facilities.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets 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 6.0% of the land in Volpedo, compared with 7.2% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Volpedo 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 Volpedo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Volpedo: 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 Volpedo 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 15 inhabited census areas in Volpedo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.8%
  • fair 17.5%
  • good 81.8%

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 006188. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.