Novara di Sicilia: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Messina, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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 Nazionale 1, Novara di Sicilia.
Novara di Sicilia, a stone village in the Peloritani mountains
Novara di Sicilia is a mountain village in the Peloritani range, inland from the Tyrrhenian coast of the province of Messina. It has a stone-built historic centre of churches and steep lanes, overlooked by the Rocca Novara, a rocky peak visible from far away. This corner of the Peloritani is also where maiorchino comes from, a sheep's milk cheese aged for a long time.
The village has lost many residents. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 1,131 in 2023, 20.0% fewer than in 2011. The estimated average age is 51.3 against 46.7 for the province, and over-65s account for 34.2%. Households are small, with 1.84 members on average, and declared incomes are below the provincial average.
In the old centre buyers will find stone houses on several floors, often shut up for years, reached on foot or along narrow streets. Before making an offer, work out how you get there by car, what state the roof and floors are in and how far the services are; the report measures those distances from the house itself. In a mountain village with steep slopes, the official landslide maps should be read for the specific address.
Earthquake hazard is high, as throughout the Messina area. The Civil Protection Department places Novara di Sicilia in zone 2, with 90 other municipalities in the province; the remaining 17 are in zone 1. Expected ground acceleration is about 0.203 g. For an old masonry house, it is worth paying an engineer for an assessment and asking whether any strengthening work has been done.
The land registry is the standard one, with Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) maps published, so the report reaches the plot from the address. The climate is zone D, with winters cooler than on the coast.
Key points
- Stone village in the Peloritani, below the Rocca Novara peak.
- Population down 20.0% since 2011; over-65s at 34.2%.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.203 g.
- Old-centre houses: check access, roof and floors before an offer.
Overview
Novara di Sicilia is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,131 residents, ranked 76 of 108 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Novara di Sicilia is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (91 of 108) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.203 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Novara di Sicilia, 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 20.0%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (47). 34% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 6.6% of the population. On average, a household has 1.8 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Novara di Sicilia declared an average taxable income of 15,808 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Novara di Sicilia is in climate zone D, with 1,738 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 650 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Novara di Sicilia has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop and 2 parks and green areas.
The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 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 2.2% of the land in Novara di Sicilia, compared with 6.0% 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 Novara di Sicilia.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Novara di Sicilia: 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 Novara di Sicilia 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 25 inhabited census areas in Novara di Sicilia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 36.8%
- good 63.2%
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 083062. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.