Aci Sant'Antonio: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Catania, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Aci Sant'Antonio
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 Lavina 1, Aci Sant'Antonio.
Aci Sant'Antonio, the hills between Etna and Acireale
On the eastern side of Mount Etna, north of Catania and just inland from Acireale, a belt of hills where old vineyards and citrus groves alternate with houses and villas makes up the municipality of Aci Sant'Antonio. It is one of the Aci towns, named after the river in the legend of Acis and Galatea, and it includes several villages such as Lavinaio and Santa Maria la Stella.
Over recent decades many families from Catania have moved here, looking for a bigger house with a garden and a little relief from the summer heat. The result is patchy, scattered development, with detached houses, small apartment blocks and narrow roads that started life as country lanes. Life here depends on the car, and rush-hour traffic towards Catania has to be factored in. Only 2 healthcare sites are recorded in the municipality, so hospitals and specialists mean a trip to Catania or Acireale.
The growth shows in the figures: 18,079 residents in 2023, up 4.7% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, with an estimated average age of 42.7, below the provincial average, and over-65s at 18.5%. Households average 2.55 people and foreign nationals are few, at 1.4%. Declared incomes are in line with the provincial average. Schools are denser than average, at 1.22 per 1,000 residents.
The eastern flank of Etna has its own shallow earthquakes, linked to the volcano's faults, which can cause damage even at moderate magnitudes. Aci Sant'Antonio is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, like 54 municipalities in the province of Catania, but the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.228 g, a high value. Buyers should ask for the structural design, find out whether the building was repaired after recent tremors and be wary of extra storeys added without calculations. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, and the report finds the land parcel from the address.
Key points
- Hills on the eastern side of Etna, between Catania and Acireale.
- Residents up 4.7%, average age 42.7.
- Seismic zone 2 but high expected acceleration (0.228 g).
- Car-dependent: hospitals and specialists in nearby towns.
Overview
Aci Sant'Antonio is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 18,079 residents, ranked 16 of 58 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Aci Sant'Antonio is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (54 of 58) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.228 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Aci Sant'Antonio, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.
Population
Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 4.7%. The estimated average age is 43 years, lower than the province average (44). 19% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Aci Sant'Antonio declared an average taxable income of 20,978 euros, in line with the province (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Aci Sant'Antonio is in climate zone C, with 1,167 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 302 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Aci Sant'Antonio has 22 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 12 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 13 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 0.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).
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 29.6% of the land in Aci Sant'Antonio, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.3 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Aci Sant'Antonio, and one more has 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 Aci Sant'Antonio: 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 Aci Sant'Antonio 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 81 inhabited census areas in Aci Sant'Antonio. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 7.8%
- good 66.6%
- very good 25.6%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 087005. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.