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Pollina: 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 Pollina

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 Liberta' 1, Pollina.

Pollina, a hilltop village in the Madonie and Finale by the sea

Pollina is split between mountain and sea. The historic village sits on top of a hill on the northern side of the Madonie mountains, at over 700 metres, with open views over the Tyrrhenian coast. Below, by the sea, is Finale, the hamlet that grew up along the coast, with beaches and holiday homes.

For buyers these are two different markets. In Finale there are flats and detached houses, many used as summer second homes, with the coast road and the Palermo-Messina railway close by. In the upper village there are stone houses packed together, cheaper, but with steep streets and cool winters, in climate zone D. For the hospital and wider services the reference is Cefalù, about twenty minutes' drive along the coast.

The municipality is losing residents, though less than many villages in the Madonie. Istat, the national statistics office, counts 2,829 (2023), down 5.6% since 2011. The average age is 48.5, against 44.7 in the Palermo metropolitan area, and over-65s are 28.0%. Foreign residents are 1.6%. Declared incomes are below the metropolitan average.

Almost the whole province of Palermo is in seismic zone 2: Pollina is one of these 81 municipalities, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.175 g. For masonry houses in the upper village and buildings from the 1960s and 1970s on the coast, it is worth having the structure checked before buying.

For the address, the report reads the price band, cadastral data and nearby services, and checks the official landslide maps on the slopes and flood maps near the coast and streams.

Key points

  • Hilltop village in the Madonie and the seaside hamlet of Finale
  • Cefalù about twenty minutes along the coast
  • 2,829 residents, down 5.6% since 2011
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.175 g

Overview

Pollina is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 2,829 residents, ranked 52 of 82 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pollina 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 0.175 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Pollina, 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 5.6%. The estimated average age is 48 years, higher than the province average (45). 28% 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 Pollina declared an average taxable income of 17,092 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Pollina is in climate zone D, with 1,800 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 730 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pollina has 6 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets, 1 healthcare facility, 1 sports facility and 1 green area.

There are 2.1 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 4.3% of the land in Pollina, 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

Official databases list no open contaminated sites in Pollina; 2 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Pollina: 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 Pollina 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 33 inhabited census areas in Pollina. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.2%
  • fair 19.7%
  • good 51.2%
  • very good 28.9%

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 082059. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.