Barrafranca: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Enna, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Barrafranca
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: Corso Vittorio Emanuele 2, Barrafranca.
Barrafranca, a farming town in the hills of central Sicily
Barrafranca is one of the largest towns in the province of Enna, in the heart of Sicily, on a hill at around 450 metres south of the provincial capital, between Piazza Armerina and Pietraperzia. Around it lies a landscape of hills planted with wheat, olives and almonds, far from the sea and the big cities. The town lives mainly from farming, trade and services for the surrounding area.
For decades many young people have left Barrafranca for northern Italy and abroad, and that shows in the market: family houses left empty, often inherited, at low prices even by Sicilian standards. The centre is made up of two- and three-storey houses along sloping streets, some in need of complete renovation. If you are buying from a distance, check the state of roofs, wiring, plumbing and render, and make sure the property is correctly registered to all the heirs.
The figures confirm the decline. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 11,664 residents in 2023, 2,313 fewer than in 2011, a fall of 16.5%. The estimated average age is 45.7, over-65s make up 24.4% and foreign residents only 1.7%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average. Supermarkets and healthcare facilities are nonetheless more common than the provincial average.
On earthquakes, Barrafranca is an exception. The province of Enna has 18 municipalities in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's scale, while Barrafranca is one of only 2 in zone 3. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.077 g. That is no reason to ignore the structure: many houses have had floors added at different times, and it is worth knowing how.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report finds the plot from the address. The clay hills of inland Sicily are often prone to landslides and ground movement, and the report checks slope and landslide hazard at the exact location of the house.
Key points
- Farming town between Piazza Armerina and Pietraperzia.
- Population down 16.5% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 3, lower than almost all the province.
- Clay hills: landslide hazard checked address by address.
Overview
Barrafranca is a municipality in the province of Enna, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 11,664 residents, ranked 5 of 20 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Barrafranca is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 2 of 20 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.077 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 16.5%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 24% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Barrafranca declared an average taxable income of 15,611 euros, below the provincial average (18,393 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Barrafranca is in climate zone C, with 1,344 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 450 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Barrafranca has 11 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 11 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities, 3 sports facilities and 2 parks and green areas.
There are 0.9 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more 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 5.4% of the land in Barrafranca, compared with 3.2% 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Barrafranca. 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 Barrafranca: 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 Barrafranca 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 85 inhabited census areas in Barrafranca. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 79 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 4.6%
- good 50.1%
- very good 45.3%
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 086004. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.