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Petralia Soprana: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Petralia Soprana

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: Nucleo Madonnuzza 1, Petralia Soprana.

Petralia Soprana, above a thousand metres in the Madonie

Petralia Soprana is one of the highest towns in Sicily. It stands above a thousand metres on a ridge of the Madonie mountains, inside the regional park, with Petralia Sottana lower down. The old centre is built of stone, with churches, small squares and climbing lanes, and the municipality also includes many hamlets scattered among fields and pastures.

Buying here means buying in proper mountains. Climate zone E brings cold winters, sometimes with snow, and cool summers that draw people escaping the heat of the coast. Houses in the centre are often old and need updating: roofs, windows, insulation and heating are the first costs to estimate. Palermo and the Tyrrhenian coast are reached by driving down from the Madonie to the motorway, and anyone working elsewhere should factor in the mountain roads.

The population has been falling for years: 2,905 residents in 2023, 15.6% fewer than in 2011. The mean age is 49.4, well above the provincial figure (44.7), and 29.4% are over 65 against 22.8% in the province. Foreign residents are very few at 1.6%, and declared incomes are below the average for the province of Palermo.

On earthquakes, the municipality is in zone 2, like 80 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.138 g. In a stone building, before thinking about finishes, have a surveyor explain how the walls and floors are built. On the slopes, the report reads the official landslide maps and the gradient of the ground for the address.

Key points

  • Madonie mountains, above a thousand metres, inside the park
  • Stone-built centre and many scattered hamlets
  • Mean age 49.4, 29.4% over 65
  • Seismic zone 2, acceleration 0.138 g

Overview

Petralia Soprana is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,905 residents, ranked 49 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Petralia Soprana 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 0.138 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Petralia Soprana, 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 15.6%. The estimated average age is 49 years, higher than the province average (45). 29% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Petralia Soprana declared an average taxable income of 18,741 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Petralia Soprana is in climate zone E, with 2,382 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 1,147 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Petralia Soprana has 9 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities and 2 sports facilities.

There are 3.1 schools per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.9).

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 3.7% of the land in Petralia Soprana, compared with 5.7% 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 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 contaminated sites in Petralia Soprana.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Petralia Soprana: 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 Petralia Soprana 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 47 inhabited census areas in Petralia Soprana. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 43.8%
  • good 56.2%

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 082055. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.