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Brolo: 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

Search for an address in Brolo

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 Trento 1, Brolo.

Brolo, a castle by the sea on the Messina coast

Brolo's old quarter clusters around a castle with a medieval tower overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, while the rest of the town fills the narrow strip of flat land between the beach and the Nebrodi hills. This is the northern coast of the province of Messina, between Capo d'Orlando and Gioiosa Marea, and the municipality is small: homes are packed into little space, with blocks of flats along the main streets and the seafront.

The Messina to Palermo motorway has an exit at Brolo and the coastal railway runs close to the centre, so Messina, Palermo and nearby towns are easy to reach. In summer the population swells with holidaymakers, and some of the flats near the sea are used only in the warmer months.

There were 5,748 residents in 2023, down 1.3% since 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics office: a modest fall for this part of Sicily. The mean age of 45.7 is below the provincial 46.7; over-65s make up 23.0% and foreign residents 2.5%. Average incomes are slightly below the provincial level.

Seismic hazard in the province of Messina is high: 91 municipalities are in zone 2, like Brolo, and 17 in zone 1, the highest band. Expected ground acceleration here is about 0.178 g. Always ask for the structural drawings and inspection certificate, especially for blocks built in the 1960s and 1970s.

Between sea and hills, beach erosion and the streams coming down from the Nebrodi both matter. The report checks flood and landslide hazard for the address after finding the land parcel on the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps. The climate zone is B, with very mild winters.

Key points

  • Seaside castle between Capo d'Orlando and Gioiosa Marea.
  • Motorway exit and coastal railway close to the centre.
  • 5,748 residents, down 1.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.178 g.

Overview

Brolo is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 5,748 residents, ranked 18 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Brolo 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 0.178 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Brolo, 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 1.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Brolo declared an average taxable income of 19,348 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Brolo is in climate zone B, with 640 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 December to 31 March, for up to 8 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 8 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Brolo has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 7 healthcare facilities, 8 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 1.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.8).

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 20.5% of the land in Brolo, 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

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Brolo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Brolo: 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 Brolo 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 111 inhabited census areas in Brolo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 15.4%
  • good 58.0%
  • very good 26.5%

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 083007. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.