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Milo: 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 Milo

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 Vincenzo Bellini 1, Milo.

Milo, Etna Bianco vineyards on the volcano's eastern side

On the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, at around 700 metres, the houses of Milo sit among woods, chestnut groves and terraced vineyards held up by dry walls of lava stone. It is the area the grapes for Etna Bianco Superiore must come from, and the singer-songwriter Franco Battiato lived here for many years. The municipality also includes the hamlet of Fornazzo, higher up towards the volcano.

People buying in Milo are usually looking for a house with land, an old wine press building (palmento) to restore, or a village home with a view of the Ionian Sea, visible in the distance from the slope. For services, secondary schools and work you drive down to the coastal towns and to Catania. Average declared income is slightly below the provincial figure.

In 2023 there were 1,023 residents, according to Istat, the national statistics office, down 3.9% on 2011. The average age is 48.6 (44.2 in the province of Catania) and over-65s make up 26.8%. Foreign residents account for 2.8%.

Almost the whole province of Catania, 54 municipalities out of 58, is in seismic zone 2, as is Milo; the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is 0.225 g. On Etna, earthquakes often start close to the surface, so for an old lava-stone house have an engineer assess the walls, roof and how the parts are tied together. When the volcano is active, ash on roofs and in gutters also needs regular clearing.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published, and the report finds the land parcel from the address. For the same spot it checks slope and the official landslide and flood maps, useful on terraced land.

Key points

  • Eastern slope of Etna, home of Etna Bianco Superiore.
  • Population down 3.9% since 2011, over-65s at 26.8%.
  • Seismic zone 2, like 54 of 58 municipalities.
  • Lava-stone houses and old wine presses to restore.

Overview

Milo is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,023 residents, among the smallest in the province (58 of 58).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Milo 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 0.225 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Milo, 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 3.9%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (44). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Milo declared an average taxable income of 20,068 euros, in line with the province (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Milo is in climate zone C, with 1,337 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 720 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Milo has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 green area.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.5 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 5.8% of the land in Milo, 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 medium. 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 Milo.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Milo: 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 Milo 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 13 inhabited census areas in Milo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 73 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 5.7%
  • good 94.3%

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

ISTAT code 087026. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.