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Castelbuono: 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 Castelbuono

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 Cefalu' 2, Castelbuono.

Castelbuono, the Ventimiglia castle in the Madonie

Castelbuono grew up around the castle of the Ventimiglia family, who ruled this part of the Madonie mountains for centuries, on the slope facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. Cefalù and the coast are around twenty kilometres by road, with the woods and peaks of the Madonie park behind. The town is known for manna, the sap collected by cutting into ash trees, and for the baked goods that have carried its name across Italy.

Tourism matters here: Overture Maps records 51 bars and restaurants, 6.36 per 1,000 residents against 4.27 for the province. Buyers find stone houses in the old centre, with stairs and stacked floors, flats in newer areas and country houses among olive and ash groves. Part of the market is made up of second homes.

The resident population, however, is shrinking. Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 8,018 residents in 2023, 12.5% fewer than the 9,161 of 2011. The estimated average age is 48.3, against 44.7 for the Palermo metropolitan area, and over-65s make up 28.5%. Foreign residents account for 2.4%. Average incomes are lower than in the province.

Almost every municipality in the Palermo metropolitan area is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, Castelbuono included, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.181 g. The hazard is not negligible: for a masonry house in the centre, ask an engineer how walls and floors are tied together and whether the roof was rebuilt to suitable standards.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report traces the plot. On the Madonie slopes, among streams and steep ground, landslide hazard varies a great deal from place to place and is checked for the exact address.

Key points

  • The Ventimiglia castle, manna and the Madonie woods.
  • 51 bars and restaurants, above the provincial average.
  • Population down 12.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.181 g.

Overview

Castelbuono is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 8,018 residents, ranked 21 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Castelbuono 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 0.181 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Castelbuono, 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 12.5%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (45). 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Castelbuono declared an average taxable income of 17,851 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Castelbuono is in climate zone C, with 1,321 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 423 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Castelbuono has 8 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 6 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility and 7 sports facilities.

There are 0.1 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

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 4.0% of the land in Castelbuono, compared with 5.7% 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 open contaminated sites in Castelbuono; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Castelbuono: 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 Castelbuono 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 34 inhabited census areas in Castelbuono. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 76 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 18.3%
  • good 50.1%
  • very good 31.7%

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 082022. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.