Motta Sant'Anastasia: 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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Search for an address in Motta Sant'Anastasia
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 Emanuele Secondo 1, Motta Sant'Anastasia.
Motta Sant'Anastasia, the Norman keep above the Simeto valley
Motta Sant'Anastasia is built on a spur of volcanic rock west of Catania, where the last slopes of Etna run down towards the Simeto valley. At the top of the town stands the Norman keep, a square tower visible from far away. Hemmed in by Catania, Misterbianco and Paternò, Motta has become a commuter town over recent decades for people working in the Catania area.
The old centre huddles around the rock, with low houses and sloping lanes. Towards Catania and along the provincial roads, districts of detached houses and small apartment blocks have grown up, and there are large shopping centres in the neighbouring towns. Getting to work in Catania almost always means driving, and you should allow for traffic on the roads into the city.
The population is growing: Istat, the national statistics office, counted 12,072 residents in 2023, up 6.0% on 2011. It is also young, with an estimated average age of 41.8 against 44.2 for the province and over-65s at 18.2%. Foreign residents make up 3.7%. Few services are recorded for the number of residents, 57 in all, because so much is found in Catania and nearby towns.
Around Etna, earthquakes are a real risk. In the province of Catania 4 municipalities are in seismic zone 1 and 54 in zone 2; Motta is in zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of about 0.194 g, a high value. Buyers should ask when the building was designed, whether it has its structural sign-off certificate and whether it has been strengthened, perhaps with the building grants of recent years.
The cadastral maps are published and the report reaches the plot. On the rock and the slopes down to the Simeto, gradient and falling rocks are the concern; lower down, how water runs off after storms. Everything is checked at the address.
Key points
- Town on a volcanic rock, crowned by a Norman keep.
- Population up 6.0% since 2011; average age 41.8.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.194 g.
- Few services in town: much is found in Catania.
Overview
Motta Sant'Anastasia is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 12,072 residents, ranked 24 of 58 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Motta Sant'Anastasia 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 0.194 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Motta Sant'Anastasia, 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 6.0%. The estimated average age is 42 years, lower than the province average (44). 18% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 3.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Motta Sant'Anastasia declared an average taxable income of 20,794 euros, in line with the province (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Motta Sant'Anastasia is in climate zone C, with 1,143 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 275 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Motta Sant'Anastasia has 5 schools and 4 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities, 6 sports facilities and 1 green area.
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 11.6% of the land in Motta Sant'Anastasia, 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 open contaminated sites in Motta Sant'Anastasia; one has been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Motta Sant'Anastasia: 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 Motta Sant'Anastasia 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 35 inhabited census areas in Motta Sant'Anastasia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 73 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 27.4%
- good 36.0%
- very good 36.6%
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 087030. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.