Capo d'Orlando: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Messina, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Capo d'Orlando
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 Consolare Antica 1, Capo d'Orlando.
Capo d'Orlando, a headland on the Tyrrhenian below the Nebrodi
The headland that gives the town its name juts into the sea on Sicily's northern, Tyrrhenian coast, in the province of Messina. Capo d'Orlando has grown up at its foot, between the sea and the Nebrodi mountains rising straight behind, and serves as the shopping and service centre for many hill villages nearby. The climate is mild, climate zone B, with short winters.
The town is well connected. The Palermo to Messina railway has a station in town and the A20 motorway has a junction nearby. In summer the population swells with beachgoers, and the market mixes year-round homes with holiday flats. Anyone buying near the beach should ask about storm surges and coastal erosion, a known problem on this stretch of coast.
Istat, the national statistics office, counted 13,111 residents in 2023, 149 fewer than in 2011 (a drop of 1.1%). The estimated average age is 47.1, close to 46.7 for the province, and over-65s make up 25.0%. Foreign residents make up 3.7%. Capo d'Orlando ranks number 4 by population among the 108 municipalities in the province, and 205 services are recorded in the municipality.
In the province of Messina, 17 municipalities are in seismic zone 1 and 91 in zone 2. Capo d'Orlando is in zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.159 g. For a block of flats, find out when it was designed and whether the structure has been checked, not least because sea air corrodes the steel in reinforced concrete.
Short, steep torrents called fiumare run down from the Nebrodi and can swell within hours in heavy rain. The report checks the official flood and landslide maps for the address and finds the plot using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.
Key points
- Tyrrhenian coast, station on the Palermo to Messina line, A20 junction.
- Population down 1.1% since 2011; 205 services recorded.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.159 g.
- Torrents and storm surges: check flooding and erosion.
Overview
Capo d'Orlando is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 13,111 residents, among the most populous in the province (4 of 108).
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Capo d'Orlando 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 0.159 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Capo d'Orlando, 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 1.1%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 3.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Capo d'Orlando declared an average taxable income of 20,636 euros, in line with the province (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Capo d'Orlando 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, Capo d'Orlando has 16 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 16 grocery shops and supermarkets, 16 healthcare facilities, 14 sports facilities and 1 green area.
There are 1.2 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 27.3% of the land in Capo d'Orlando, compared with 6.0% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.6 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
Official databases list no contaminated sites in Capo d'Orlando.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Capo d'Orlando: 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 Capo d'Orlando 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 76 inhabited census areas in Capo d'Orlando. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 2.6%
- fair 30.4%
- good 57.5%
- very good 9.5%
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
- 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 083009. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.