Porto Empedocle: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Agrigento, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Porto Empedocle
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: Strada Statale 115 1, Porto Empedocle.
Porto Empedocle, Agrigento's port and Camilleri's Vigàta
Ferries and hydrofoils to Lampedusa and Linosa leave from Porto Empedocle, the port of Agrigento on Sicily's southern coast, and the harbour is still the heart of the town. Andrea Camilleri, creator of Inspector Montalbano, was born here and drew on these places for Vigàta, the fictional town of his novels. Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples are a few kilometres inland.
The town grew around the port and its trade, and the housing is mixed, with old houses near the sea, apartment buildings from the second half of the twentieth century on the high ground behind, and newer districts towards the Agrigento road. The climate is among the mildest in Italy. Porto Empedocle is in climate zone A, with very few cold days, so heating costs are low.
In 2023 there were 15,600 residents, down 7.4% since 2011, or 1,241 fewer people, with young people leaving here as across the province. The average age is 44.9 against 45.6 in the province, and foreign nationals are few, 1.8%. Declared incomes are just above the provincial average.
The municipality is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, yet the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is low, about 0.056 g. The two do not always match because the region sets the zone for the whole municipality, while acceleration is calculated for the point. Near the sea, the state of reinforced concrete also matters a lot: salty air corrodes the steel bars, so balconies, pillars and slab edges deserve a close look.
The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes the cadastral maps, and the report traces the land parcel from the address. Behind the harbour the ground rises in steep slopes, and slope stability is the first thing to check for houses built on the high ground.
Key points
- Agrigento's port, with ferries to Lampedusa and Linosa.
- Climate zone A, very mild winters.
- Population down 7.4% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, low expected acceleration (0.056 g).
Overview
Porto Empedocle is a municipality in the province of Agrigento, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 15,600 residents, ranked 8 of 43 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Porto Empedocle is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (27 of 43) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.056 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Porto Empedocle, 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 7.4%. 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 1.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Porto Empedocle declared an average taxable income of 18,934 euros, above the provincial average (18,027 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Porto Empedocle is in climate zone A, with 579 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 December to 15 March, for up to 6 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 2 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Porto Empedocle has 12 schools and 5 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 5 grocery shops and supermarkets, 6 healthcare facilities and 9 sports facilities.
There are 0.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).
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 17.4% of the land in Porto Empedocle, compared with 5.8% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 7.4 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. 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 Porto Empedocle, and one more has 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 Porto Empedocle: 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 Porto Empedocle 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 64 inhabited census areas in Porto Empedocle. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 21.3%
- good 50.5%
- very good 28.2%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 084028. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.