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Mineo: 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 Mineo

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 Trinacia 1, Mineo.

Mineo, Capuana's home town in the hills near Caltagirone

Mineo is the town where Luigi Capuana, one of the writers of Italian realism, was born. It stands on high ground in the Catania hinterland, in the area around Caltagirone, overlooking the plain that runs down towards Catania. The old town spreads along the ridge, with Baroque churches, mansions and steep streets; around it lies a large, lightly built territory of fields, olive groves and citrus orchards.

The population has fallen sharply. There are 4,418 residents, 15.3% fewer than the 5,216 recorded in 2011 by Istat, the Italian statistics office. The average age is 47.7 against 44.2 for the province of Catania, over-65s make up 27.3% and foreign residents 5.2%. Declared incomes are much lower than the provincial average.

For buyers this means a market with many houses available, often old and empty for years, and low prices. Before buying, have the roof, floors and damp checked, and make sure the building paperwork is in order. With the town hall at around 500 metres, winters are cooler than on the coast and summers more bearable than on the plain. The data lists 30 services; for hospitals and larger services people look to Caltagirone and Catania.

South-eastern Sicily has a history of very strong earthquakes. Mineo is in seismic zone 2, like 53 other municipalities in the province, but the expected ground acceleration of about 0.224 g is high for this zone. For masonry houses in the old town, structural checks and any seismic improvements should be the first item in your budget.

On the ridge and the slopes the report measures elevation and gradient and reads the official landslide maps. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps are published.

Key points

  • Birthplace of the writer Luigi Capuana, on a hill near Caltagirone.
  • 4,418 residents, down 15.3% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2 with high acceleration, about 0.224 g.
  • Many old houses at low prices: check structure and paperwork.

Overview

Mineo is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 4,418 residents, ranked 43 of 58 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mineo 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 Mineo, 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 15.3%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (44). 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 5.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mineo declared an average taxable income of 14,023 euros, below the provincial average (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Mineo is in climate zone C, with 1,293 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 511 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mineo has 5 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities and 2 sports facilities.

There are 0.5 pharmacies per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.3).

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 2.2% of the land in Mineo, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 7.4 hectares.

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 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Mineo, and 3 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Mineo: 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 Mineo 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 45 inhabited census areas in Mineo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 79 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 13.3%
  • good 41.3%
  • very good 45.4%

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 087027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.