Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Capizzi: 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 Capizzi

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 Roma 1, Capizzi.

Capizzi, above a thousand metres in the Nebrodi

Capizzi is one of the highest villages in Sicily: the town hall stands above a thousand metres, in the heart of the Nebrodi mountains, in the province of Messina but far from the coast. Around it are pastures, woods and livestock farms, and the economy still relies on the land and animals more than on tourism.

The altitude shapes daily life. The village is in climate zone E, winters are long and cold with frequent snow, and heating is a major cost. Buyers mostly find masonry houses in the centre, packed along sloping streets, plus a few newer buildings on the edges. The roof, insulation and services are the first things to check. For the hospital, secondary schools and offices, residents drive down to the Tyrrhenian coast or to the larger inland towns, with long travel times.

Unlike other mountain villages, Capizzi is not among the oldest: the average age is 44.9, below the 46.7 of the Messina metropolitan area, and over-65s are 22.0%. Households are larger than average, with 2.31 members. The decline is real, though: Istat, the national statistics office, counts 2,816 residents (2023), down 15.9% since 2011. Foreign residents are just 0.4%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

The province of Messina is split between seismic zone 1 (17 municipalities) and zone 2 (91). Capizzi is in zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.166 g. For stone houses, have the structure checked before major work.

In the mountains, gradient and ground type matter: the report checks the official landslide and flood maps for the address, along with the price band and cadastral data.

Key points

  • Heart of the Nebrodi, town hall above a thousand metres
  • Average age 44.9, below the provincial 46.7
  • 2,816 residents, down 15.9% since 2011
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.166 g

Overview

Capizzi is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,816 residents, ranked 40 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Capizzi 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 0.166 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Capizzi, 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 45 years, lower than the province average (47). 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 0.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Capizzi declared an average taxable income of 14,422 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Capizzi is in climate zone E, with 2,507 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 1,100 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Capizzi has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 1 green area.

There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer 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 1.8% of the land in Capizzi, 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 Capizzi.

Landslides and flooding

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

Residents by band

  • fair 7.5%
  • good 79.5%
  • very good 13.0%

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 083008. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.