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Palermo: what to know before buying a home

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

Search for an address in Palermo

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 Dante 7, Milan.

Palermo, half a province in one city

More than half the people in the province live in Palermo. The Sicilian capital had 630,427 residents in 2023, 52.5% of the provincial total. The city faces the Tyrrhenian Sea across the plain known as the Conca d'Oro, hemmed in by Monte Pellegrino and the hills inland. Phoenicians, Arabs and Normans all left their mark: Arab-Norman Palermo, including the Palatine Chapel and the cathedral, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the cathedrals of Monreale and Cefalù.

The 2011 census counted 657,561 residents, so the population has since fallen by 4.1%. It remains a fairly young city by Italian standards: an estimated average age of about 45, 23.1% of residents over 65 (almost exactly the Sicilian figure of 23.2%) and households of 2.36 people on average. Foreign nationals make up 4.0%.

A city this size has to be understood district by district, and the numbers show why. Overture counts 581 education sites, 444 healthcare sites, 194 officially registered pharmacies and 2,512 cafés and restaurants. Per resident these are close to the provincial averages, but the real walking distance to a school or pharmacy varies enormously between neighbourhoods, which is why the report measures it from the address.

For earthquake risk Palermo is in seismic zone 2, like 81 of the 82 municipalities in the province; only one is in zone 1. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.174 g, a mid-range value. With housing that runs from historic palazzi to post-war apartment blocks, the key question for a buyer is when and how the building was put up.

The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps (Agenzia delle Entrate) cover all of Palermo, so the sheet and parcel number can be derived from the address. There is no single answer on landslides and flooding for the whole city: the report looks at the exact location of the property.

Key points

  • 630,427 residents in 2023: 52.5% of the province.
  • Population down 4.1% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.174 g.
  • Arab-Norman centre listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Overview

Palermo is the capital of the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 630,427 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 53% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Palermo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (81 of 82) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.174 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Palermo, 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.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood risk changes from one street to the next, even within the same municipality: for this reason we do not summarise it as a single figure for the whole of Palermo.

The report checks the exact address against the ISPRA national maps and tells you in plain words whether the building falls within an at-risk area. The official map is also available on IdroGEO.

House prices

We do not publish price tables by municipality. The report gives the minimum and maximum price per square metre for the address's zone, from the Revenue Agency's OMI valuations, with the reference half-year. It is a range for the zone, not the value of a specific home.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 4.1%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% 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.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Palermo has 581 schools and 194 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 283 grocery shops and supermarkets, 444 healthcare facilities, 401 sports facilities and 57 parks and green areas.

There are 0.7 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.5).

This data is gathered from several providers: services may be missing or closed businesses may still appear. The report counts services within 500 metres and 1 kilometre of the address.

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

Land registry

The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps for Palermo: the report finds the building's parcel, that is its sheet and parcel number, starting from the address.

Data sources

ISTAT code 082053. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.