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Maniace: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Catania, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Maniace

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: Viale Sant'Andrea 1, Maniace.

Maniace, a farming town between the Nebrodi and Etna

Maniace is a hill and mountain municipality in the upper Simeto valley, between the southern side of the Nebrodi mountains and Etna, on the north-western edge of the province of Catania. It became a municipality in its own right only a few decades ago, separating from Bronte, and its character is mainly agricultural, with orchards, pasture and woodland. Catania is a long drive away, and for many services people still turn to Bronte.

The population is much younger than the provincial average. The average age is 41.3 against 44.2 in the province, and over-65s make up only 19.3%. In 2023 there were 3,763 residents, up 2.5% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, bucking the trend of many inland Sicilian towns. Foreign residents are very few, at 0.4%. Average declared incomes are well below the provincial level.

The settlement is spread over several clusters and rural districts, with houses built mostly in recent decades, often in masonry or reinforced concrete, and few historic buildings. With the town hall above 700 metres and climate zone D, winters are cool and insulation matters.

Earthquakes are a real issue throughout the Etna area. Maniace is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 53 other municipalities in the province, and the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.170 g. For houses built without seismic design, or extended upwards over time, have the structure checked and make sure the building permits are in order.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps. With streams, valley floors and slopes, the report checks gradient and the landslide and flood maps for the address.

Key points

  • Farming town in the upper Simeto valley, between the Nebrodi and Etna.
  • Average age 41.3, over-65s only 19.3%.
  • 3,763 residents in 2023, growing since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.170 g.

Overview

Maniace is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 3,763 residents, ranked 49 of 58 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Maniace 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 0.170 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Maniace, 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 grown by 2.5%. The estimated average age is 41 years, lower than the province average (44). 19% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 0.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.5 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Maniace declared an average taxable income of 14,676 euros, below the provincial average (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Maniace is in climate zone D, with 1,972 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 787 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Maniace has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 per 1,000 residents.

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 4.3% of the land in Maniace, 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

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Maniace.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Maniace: 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 Maniace 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 26 inhabited census areas in Maniace. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 97.3%
  • good 2.7%

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 087057. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.