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Mussomeli: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Mussomeli

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 Trieste 1, Mussomeli.

Mussomeli, a castle on a rock and an old town to restore

From a distance you see the castle first and the town second. The castle of Mussomeli stands on a spur of rock outside the town, its walls seeming to grow out of the stone, and it is one of the best preserved medieval castles in inland Sicily. The town itself lies higher up, above seven hundred metres, in the hills between Caltanissetta, Agrigento and Palermo, among wheat fields and pasture.

Mussomeli has become known abroad for selling abandoned houses in its old centre for token prices, a scheme meant to bring people back into lanes emptied by emigration. Many buyers have come from outside Italy. If you are considering one of these houses, start with a site visit with a surveyor: roofs, walls and services often need redoing, and restoration costs matter far more than the purchase price. The newer parts of town have houses in better shape that are easier to reach by car.

At the end of 2023 there were 9,915 residents, down 9.9% since 2011. The estimated average age is 46.7, higher than the province, over-65s make up 24.9% and foreign residents only 1.8%. For a town of this size there are many schools, 12 in the Overture Maps data, because Mussomeli serves the surrounding villages.

Winter here is colder than people expect in Sicily, in climate zone D, so heating and insulation matter. As for earthquakes, the town is in seismic zone 3, like 17 others in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.072 g. In the stone houses of the centre it is still worth asking about the condition of walls and floors.

The clay soils of inland Sicily move easily: on the slopes the report checks the landslide maps for the exact address and finds the plot on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps.

Key points

  • Medieval castle on a rock, town above seven hundred metres.
  • Population down 9.9% since 2011; over-65s at 24.9%.
  • Old-town houses need restoring: get a surveyor before buying.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.072 g.

Overview

Mussomeli is a municipality in the province of Caltanissetta, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 9,915 residents, ranked 7 of 22 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Mussomeli is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (18 of 22) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.072 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 9.9%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Mussomeli declared an average taxable income of 19,082 euros, in line with the province (19,090 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Mussomeli is in climate zone D, with 1,763 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 726 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Mussomeli has 12 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 6 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 4 sports facilities and 1 green area.

There are 0.6 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).

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 3.5% of the land in Mussomeli, compared with 4.8% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.0 hectares.

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 open contaminated sites in Mussomeli; 6 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Mussomeli: 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 Mussomeli 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 56 inhabited census areas in Mussomeli. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 84 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 4.6%
  • good 20.7%
  • very good 74.7%

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 085012. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.