Pace del Mela: 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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Search for an address in Pace del Mela
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 Statale 1, Pace del Mela.
Pace del Mela, hill village and the Giammoro industrial coast
Pace del Mela covers a strip of land running from the Peloritani hills down to the sea on the Gulf of Milazzo. The old village sits inland at around 100 metres, while on the coast lies Giammoro, with its industrial area and harbour. Milazzo is close by, and Messina is about half an hour away on the A20 motorway, which continues west towards Palermo.
The Mela valley is one of the most industrialised areas of eastern Sicily. Between Milazzo and San Filippo del Mela there are an oil refinery and a power station, and Giammoro adds more businesses. For a home buyer this matters more than anything else: distance from the plants, the prevailing wind and lorry traffic change both value and quality of life from one street to the next, and it is worth looking at local air quality data. The share of land covered by buildings and infrastructure is also high.
Istat, the national statistics office, recorded 5,962 residents in 2023, down 6.7% since 2011. The population is slightly younger than the province: an average age of 45.5 against 46.7, with over-65s at 22.4%. Foreign residents make up 4.0%. Average incomes are below the provincial level, and the climate is zone B, with very mild winters.
Earthquakes are the second issue. In the province of Messina, 17 municipalities are in seismic zone 1 of the Civil Protection classification and 91 in zone 2, Pace del Mela among them. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.162 g. For a house built before the recent anti-seismic rules, ask for the structural design; for houses that grew one floor at a time, check the building permits.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report traces the land parcel from the address. Along the streams coming down from the Peloritani, often dry but prone to sudden floods, flood hazard should be checked for the individual house, and landslide hazard too on the hills.
Key points
- From the hills to the sea at Giammoro, next to Milazzo.
- 5,962 residents, down 6.7% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.162 g.
- Distance from industrial plants to be weighed house by house.
Overview
Pace del Mela is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 5,962 residents, ranked 17 of 108 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pace del Mela 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 0.162 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Pace del Mela, 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 6.7%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 4.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pace del Mela declared an average taxable income of 19,532 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Pace del Mela is in climate zone B, with 821 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 December to 31 March, for up to 8 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 114 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pace del Mela has 7 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities and 3 sports facilities.
There are 1.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).
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 27.4% of the land in Pace del Mela, 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
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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Pace del Mela, and one more has 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 Pace del Mela: 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 Pace del Mela 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 37 inhabited census areas in Pace del Mela. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 0.4%
- fair 31.6%
- good 68.0%
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 083064. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.