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Bisacquino: 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 Bisacquino

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 Decano Calogero di Vincenti 1, Bisacquino.

Bisacquino, in the Sicani mountains inland from Palermo

Bisacquino is a mountain town in the interior of the province of Palermo, in the Sicani mountains in the south of the province, among pastures, wheat fields and limestone ridges. It is the birthplace of Frank Capra, director of It's a Wonderful Life, who was born here in 1897 and emigrated to the United States as a child. Palermo is far off, more than an hour on inland roads, and the nearest sizeable town is Corleone.

Depopulation is the most striking fact: 4,061 residents in 2023 according to Istat, the national statistics office, 15.9% fewer than the 4,829 of 2011, or 768 people. The average age is 48.2, well above the province's 44.7, and over-65s make up 28.6% against 22.8%. Foreign residents are almost absent, at 0.7%. Average declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

For buyers this means a market with many empty houses and low prices, but also services that need checking one by one: schools, pharmacies, transport to Palermo. In the centre, houses are stone-built, on several floors with steep stairs; many need major work on the roof, wiring and plumbing, and walls.

The province of Palermo is almost entirely in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification: Bisacquino is in zone 2 with 80 other municipalities, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.121 g. In an old house, before spending on renovation, have a surveyor assess the structure and look into the tax incentives currently available for seismic upgrading.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report finds the plot from the address. On the clay and limestone slopes of the Sicani, landslide hazard should be checked for the individual house. Winters here are colder than many expect in Sicily: climate zone D, with the occasional snowfall.

Key points

  • Sicani mountain town, birthplace of Frank Capra.
  • Population down 15.9% since 2011.
  • Over-65s at 28.6%, against 22.8% in the province.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.121 g.

Overview

Bisacquino is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 4,061 residents, ranked 38 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bisacquino 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 0.121 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Bisacquino, 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 15.9%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (45). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 0.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bisacquino declared an average taxable income of 15,042 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bisacquino is in climate zone D, with 1,758 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 744 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bisacquino has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 1 sports facility.

There are 2.0 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).

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 3.2% of the land in Bisacquino, 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

Official databases list no open contaminated sites in Bisacquino; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bisacquino: 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 Bisacquino 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 24 inhabited census areas in Bisacquino. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 77 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 3.8%
  • good 62.9%
  • very good 33.3%

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

ISTAT code 082010. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.