Foreign residents in Portula
Portula, in the province of Biella, is home to 3 Brazilians — 0.27% of its 1,094 residents. That is the 253rd-highest concentration of Brazilians of any of the 5,872 Italian comuni with at least 1,000 residents, and 49th within Piemonte.
Across the nationalities we track, Portula counts 9 foreign residents in total, 0.82% of the population. The largest groups are Brazilians (3), Russians (2), Argentinians (1).
Over the period 2019–2025, the number of Brazilians in Portula has risen, from 0 to 3.
Separately, ISTAT's census data shows 8.8% of Portula's population was born outside Italy — 7.2% outside the EU and 1.6% elsewhere in the EU. ISTAT does not publish this broken down by specific country at comune level, so it isn't directly comparable to the per-nationality citizenship figures above.
Population over time
By nationality
| Nationality | Citizens | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 3 | 0.27% |
| Russia | 2 | 0.18% |
| Argentina | 1 | 0.09% |
| Belgium | 1 | 0.09% |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0.09% |
| Venezuela | 1 | 0.09% |
| Austria | 0 | 0.00% |
| Australia | 0 | 0.00% |
| Canada | 0 | 0.00% |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Germany | 0 | 0.00% |
| Denmark | 0 | 0.00% |
| Spain | 0 | 0.00% |
| Finland | 0 | 0.00% |
| France | 0 | 0.00% |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 0.00% |
| Greece | 0 | 0.00% |
| Ireland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Japan | 0 | 0.00% |
| South Korea | 0 | 0.00% |
| Mexico | 0 | 0.00% |
| Norway | 0 | 0.00% |
| Portugal | 0 | 0.00% |
| Sweden | 0 | 0.00% |
| United States | 0 | 0.00% |
Country of birth
| Group | Residents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Italy | 998 | 91.22% |
| Born elsewhere in the EU | 17 | 1.55% |
| Born outside the EU | 79 | 7.22% |
Brazilians over time
Quality of life in Biella
Full BES profile for Biella →Biella on cost vs quality of life (province-level) →
Property prices
Buying in Portula is well below the Biella average of €566/m². Averaged across 2 OMI micro-zones, which can differ substantially within the same town.
13.3 years of rent here equal the purchase price — well below the national median of 22.2 years.
A ratio between two OMI prices, not a return on investment. It leaves out purchase taxes, IMU, maintenance, financing and the months a place sits empty — all of which push the real figure up. Useful for the question it does answer: whether this town looks expensive to buy relative to what renting in it costs.
A detached house here averages €635/m², against €400 for an apartment.
Compared street for street — houses and flats priced in the same neighbourhood — a house costs 59% more per square metre.
OMI prices “Ville e Villini” separately from the apartments every other figure on this page describes. Nationally a house costs about 14% more per square metre, but in 450 comuni it costs less — worth checking rather than assuming.