Grammichele: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Catania, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Vittorio Veneto 1, Grammichele.
Grammichele, the hexagonal town rebuilt after 1693
Grammichele's plan is recognisable even from the air: six streets radiate from a hexagonal central square and the town spreads outwards in concentric rings. It was built from scratch after the 1693 earthquake destroyed the old settlement of Occhiolà nearby, and that regular layout is still what Grammichele is known for.
This is the Calatino, the hill country of south-eastern Sicily, more than five hundred metres up, with Caltagirone a few kilometres away and Catania about an hour's drive. The economy is agricultural, with olive groves, wheat and vegetables, and several larger services, such as the hospital and the courts, are in Caltagirone. For buyers, the centre offers many older masonry houses, often of one or two storeys, and the report shows the local price range.
Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 12,353 residents in 2023, 5.4% fewer than in 2011. The population is older than the province of Catania, with over-65s at 24.9% against 21.9%. Foreign nationals make up 6.5%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.
The town's history is a reminder that earthquakes are a real issue here. Grammichele is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 54 municipalities in the province, while another 4 are in zone 1; the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.224 g, a high value. Before buying a masonry house in the centre, have the walls, floors and roof assessed by a surveyor and find out whether any strengthening has been done.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps and the report locates the land parcel from the address. The town stands on high ground, where flooding is rare, while the surrounding slopes may carry landslide hazard, which the report checks at the exact spot.
Key points
- Hexagonal plan, rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake.
- Over-65s at 24.9%, residents down 5.4% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.224 g.
- Masonry houses in the centre: have floors and roofs assessed.
Overview
Grammichele is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 12,353 residents, ranked 23 of 58 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Grammichele is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (54 of 58) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.224 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Grammichele, 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 5.4%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 6.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Grammichele declared an average taxable income of 15,558 euros, below the provincial average (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Grammichele is in climate zone C, with 1,304 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 520 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Grammichele has 11 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 11 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities and 3 sports facilities.
There are 0.2 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 12.3% of the land in Grammichele, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.
Radon and contaminated sites
According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list no contaminated sites in Grammichele.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Grammichele: 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 Grammichele 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 39 inhabited census areas in Grammichele. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 16.7%
- good 83.3%
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
- 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 087018. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.