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Palagonia: 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 Palagonia

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, Palagonia.

Palagonia, blood oranges on the edge of the Catania plain

Blood oranges are what Palagonia is known for, and the town's economy still largely depends on its fields. The town lies in the south-west of the province of Catania, where the plain gives way to the first hills of the Iblei range, and the area is part of the zone of the protected Sicilian blood orange.

The town is compact, with a core of narrow streets and low houses surrounded by later districts of small apartment buildings. Catania and its airport are less than an hour's drive away. Buyers should have a surveyor (geometra) check that the property matches its building permits and the floor plan at the land registry, a step worth taking anywhere and even more so where many houses have been extended over time.

Palagonia is a young town. In 2023 there were 15,654 residents, down 5.4% since 2011; the average age is 41.6 against 44.2 in the province, over-65s make up 18.7%, and households have 2.32 people on average. Foreign nationals account for 3.3%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average. Recorded healthcare sites and sports facilities are few per resident, and for several services people go to larger towns.

South-eastern Sicily is one of the most earthquake-prone parts of Italy. Palagonia is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.218 g, a high value; in the province, 4 municipalities are in zone 1. For a reinforced concrete building from before recent standards, or a masonry house, asking for structural surveys and the work carried out comes first, before any talk of price.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report traces the land parcel from the address. Between the hills and the plain, streams can swell after autumn storms, so flooding and landslides are checked for each individual address.

Key points

  • Farming town among citrus groves, at the foot of the Iblei hills.
  • Average age 41.6, households of 2.32 people.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.218 g.
  • Houses extended over time: check permits and plans.

Overview

Palagonia is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 15,654 residents, ranked 19 of 58 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Palagonia 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 0.218 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Palagonia, 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 5.4%. The estimated average age is 42 years, lower than the province average (44). 19% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 3.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Palagonia declared an average taxable income of 14,400 euros, below the provincial average (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Palagonia is in climate zone C, with 1,085 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 200 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Palagonia has 15 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 10 grocery shops and supermarkets, 4 healthcare facilities and 3 sports facilities.

There are 0.3 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 7.0% of the land in Palagonia, 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 Palagonia; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Palagonia: 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 Palagonia 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 52 inhabited census areas in Palagonia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 81 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 8.1%
  • good 32.7%
  • very good 59.2%

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

ISTAT code 087032. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.