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Alimena: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Alimena

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 Catania 1, Alimena.

Alimena, the inland Madonie towards the heart of Sicily

Alimena is a hill village in the hinterland of Palermo province, on the southern side of the Madonie mountains, where the province meets that of Caltanissetta. This is inland Sicily: hills under wheat, pasture, few scattered houses and long roads linking one village to the next.

The old centre has stone and rendered houses, often two or three storeys high, on sloping streets. Work, the hospital and larger services are some way off, between Petralia, Caltanissetta and Palermo, and a car is essential. Average incomes are much lower than in the province. Anyone buying a house in the centre should budget for checks on the roof, floors and services, and take a realistic view of the work needed.

Istat, the national statistics office, shows a village that is shrinking and ageing: 1,793 residents in 2023, 16.7% fewer than in 2011. The average age is 49.8 against 44.7 in the province of Palermo, and over-65s make up 31.7% against 22.8% across the province. Households have 1.98 members on average.

Alimena is in seismic zone 2, like 80 other municipalities in the province, with an expected acceleration of 0.101 g. In older masonry houses, have the connections between walls and floors and the condition of the roof checked.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps. The report traces the address back to the land parcel and reads slope, elevation and the official landslide and flood maps.

Key points

  • Village in the southern Madonie, towards Caltanissetta province.
  • Population down 16.7% since 2011, over-65s at 31.7%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.101 g.
  • Houses in the centre: check roofs, floors and services.

Overview

Alimena is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,793 residents, ranked 62 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Alimena is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (81 of 82) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.101 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Alimena, 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 16.7%. The estimated average age is 50 years, higher than the province average (45). 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Alimena declared an average taxable income of 14,702 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Alimena is in climate zone D, with 1,816 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 740 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Alimena has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets and 1 healthcare facility.

There are 2.2 schools per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.9).

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 2.3% of the land in Alimena, compared with 5.7% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

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 no contaminated sites in Alimena.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Alimena: 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 Alimena 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 10 inhabited census areas in Alimena. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 80 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 3.2%
  • good 33.7%
  • very good 63.1%

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 082002. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.