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Polizzi Generosa: 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 Polizzi Generosa

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 Garibaldi 1, Polizzi Generosa.

Polizzi Generosa, a mountain town in the heart of the Madonie

In the middle of the Madonie Regional Park, Polizzi Generosa stands on a ridge at over nine hundred metres. The old centre is packed with stone churches and palazzi, with steep lanes and views opening onto the surrounding mountains.

The mountains set the terms. Officially the town is in climate zone D, but at this height winters are cold and snow is not unusual, so in the old houses insulation, windows and the heating system matter. Many buildings are old and built of masonry, and before buying it is worth having a surveyor look at the roof, floors and services. The Palermo to Catania motorway runs down in the valley, reached by car along the road that descends from the Madonie.

The town has lost many residents. According to Istat, the national statistics office, there are 2,860 (2023), 747 fewer than in 2011, a fall of 20.7%. The average age is 51.6, compared with 44.7 in the province of Palermo, and over-65s are 33.5%, well above the provincial 22.8%. Foreign residents are 1.0% and declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Polizzi is in seismic zone 2, like almost all of the province (81 of 82 municipalities), with an expected ground acceleration in the built-up area of 0.143 g. With a historic building, ask what has been done to the structure and how walls and floors are tied together. For the slopes around the town, the report checks the official landslide maps at the exact address.

Key points

  • Mountain town in the Madonie Regional Park
  • 2,860 residents, down 20.7% since 2011
  • Over-65s at 33.5%, against 22.8% provincially
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.143 g

Overview

Polizzi Generosa is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,860 residents, ranked 51 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Polizzi Generosa 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 0.143 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Polizzi Generosa, 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 20.7%. The estimated average age is 52 years, higher than the province average (45). 34% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.0% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Polizzi Generosa declared an average taxable income of 15,757 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Polizzi Generosa is in climate zone D, with 2,037 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 920 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Polizzi Generosa has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 green area.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.6 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 2.3% of the land in Polizzi Generosa, 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 one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Polizzi Generosa, and 2 more have 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 Polizzi Generosa: 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 Polizzi Generosa 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 23 inhabited census areas in Polizzi Generosa. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 72 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 6.1%
  • good 93.9%

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 082058. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.