Basicò: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Messina, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
Liveability index free for any address
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Search for an address in Basicò
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 Vittorio Emanuele Terzo 1, Basicò.
Basicò, a hill village inland from the Tyrrhenian coast near Messina
Away from the beaches but not far from the sea, Basicò is a small municipality in the hills inland from the Tyrrhenian coast of the province of Messina, in north-eastern Sicily. The village is at around 500 metres, among cultivated slopes and woods, and the roads drop to the coast, where the larger towns have shops, secondary schools and railway stations. It is a farming place, with little business in the village and daily life built around the car.
In 2023 Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 635 residents, down 6.5% on 2011. Households are small, 1.71 people on average, the average age is 49.3 against 46.7 in the province, and over-65s make up 29.8%. Average declared income is well below the provincial figure.
Most homes are masonry houses in the village, often terraced along sloping streets, plus houses in the countryside. Buyers, perhaps returning to Sicily or wanting a base near the coast, should look at the state of roofs and floors and the cost of the work, and check car access.
The province of Messina is highly exposed to earthquakes: 17 municipalities are in zone 1 of the Civil Protection (Protezione Civile) classification and 91 in zone 2, Basicò among them, where the expected ground acceleration in the village is about 0.201 g. For a masonry building, it is worth getting an engineer's assessment and asking to see the permits for any structural work.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report traces the address to the land parcel. In a landscape of slopes, it reads the elevation, gradient and official landslide hazard maps for the individual plot.
Key points
- Hill village inland from the Tyrrhenian coast near Messina.
- 635 residents, households of 1.71 on average.
- Over-65s at 29.8%, average age 49.3.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.201 g.
Overview
Basicò is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 635 residents, among the smallest in the province (98 of 108).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Basicò is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (91 of 108) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.201 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Basicò, 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 6.5%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (47). 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.5% of the population. On average, a household has 1.7 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Basicò declared an average taxable income of 14,198 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Basicò is in climate zone D, with 1,516 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 520 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Basicò has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 healthcare facility and 2 sports facilities.
The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
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 4.3% of the land in Basicò, compared with 6.0% 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 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 Basicò. 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 Basicò: 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 Basicò 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 7 inhabited census areas in Basicò. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 46.2%
- good 53.8%
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 083006. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.