Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Alcamo: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Alcamo

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: Contrada Calatubo 1, Alcamo.

Alcamo, between Monte Bonifato and the Gulf of Castellammare

Alcamo sits on a plateau at the foot of Monte Bonifato, roughly halfway between Palermo and Trapani, looking out over the Gulf of Castellammare. It is a farming and market town known for its wine: Bianco d'Alcamo has a protected designation of origin and vineyards cover much of the surrounding countryside. The Palermo to Mazara del Vallo motorway runs close to town, which makes it easy to reach Palermo and Punta Raisi airport.

The municipality also has a stretch of coast, Alcamo Marina, a long line of small villas and summer houses along the shore. Many properties there are holiday homes with different issues from those in town: connections to mains water and sewers, access roads, building condition and planning compliance all need checking one by one. In town, the historic centre has baroque churches and palazzi and plenty of houses needing work, while newer districts have spread towards the plain.

There are 44,659 residents (2023), slightly down on 2011 (-1.4%), according to Istat, Italy's statistics office. Alcamo ranks number 4 in the province of Trapani and holds 10.8% of its population. The average age is 45.4, a little below the province, and foreign residents make up 6.1%. Average declared incomes are close to the low provincial level.

Earthquake hazard should be taken seriously. Alcamo is in seismic zone 2 of the national classification, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.125 g, and further south lies the Belice valley, devastated by the 1968 earthquake. 6 municipalities in the province are in zone 1, the highest. For an older building, find out whether the structure is masonry or reinforced concrete, when it was built and what work has been done since.

On the slopes of Bonifato and in the gullies running down to the sea, the report also checks landslide and flood maps for the individual address.

Key points

  • Wine town between Palermo and Trapani, with a coastal area, Alcamo Marina.
  • 44,659 residents in 2023, 10.8% of the province.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.125 g.
  • Holiday homes by the sea: check permits and utility connections.

Overview

Alcamo is a municipality in the province of Trapani, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 44,659 residents, ranked 4 of 25 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Alcamo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (18 of 25) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.125 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Alcamo, 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 fallen by 1.4%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 6.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Alcamo declared an average taxable income of 18,815 euros, in line with the province (18,927 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Alcamo is in climate zone C, with 1,140 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 258 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Alcamo has 29 schools and 15 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 26 grocery shops and supermarkets, 37 healthcare facilities, 25 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.6 schools 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 10.3% of the land in Alcamo, compared with 7.9% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 5.9 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Alcamo, 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 Alcamo: 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 Alcamo 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 389 inhabited census areas in Alcamo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 81 or more.

Residents by band

  • poor 0.1%
  • modest 1.9%
  • fair 10.2%
  • good 21.3%
  • very good 66.5%

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 081001. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.