Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Raccuja: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Raccuja

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: Contrada Fossochiodo 1, Raccuja.

Raccuja, a Nebrodi village above the Tyrrhenian coast

From the Tyrrhenian coast of the province of Messina, roads climb the valleys towards the Nebrodi mountains, and Raccuja is one of the villages you meet halfway up, at around 600 metres, among hazelnut groves, olives and woods. The sea is visible from above and reachable by car; for hospital and secondary schools people head down to the coastal towns.

The population has fallen sharply. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 834 residents at the end of 2023, 305 fewer than in 2011, or 26.8%. The average age is 52.5, against 46.7 in the metropolitan city of Messina, and over-65s are 32.7%. Households are small, 1.89 people on average, and declared income is below the provincial figure.

Buyers will find houses in the old centre, built against each other along narrow lanes, often on several floors and reached on foot. The advantage is space right in the heart of the village; the commitment lies in the building work, the permits and getting builders' vehicles to the door.

Raccuja is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 90 other municipalities in the Messina area, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.195 g. In terraced masonry houses, how each one is connected to its neighbours also matters, and is something to have a surveyor check before buying.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published and the report traces the address to its land parcel. In Nebrodi villages slope and landslide hazard change from one street to the next, so the official maps are read for the plot.

Key points

  • Mid-mountain village in the Nebrodi, above the Tyrrhenian coast.
  • Population down 26.8% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.195 g.
  • Terraced houses: check the links with neighbouring buildings.

Overview

Raccuja is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 834 residents, ranked 88 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Raccuja is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (91 of 108) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.195 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Raccuja, 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 26.8%. The estimated average age is 53 years, higher than the province average (47). 33% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 3.4% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Raccuja declared an average taxable income of 17,641 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Raccuja is in climate zone D, with 1,721 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 640 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Raccuja has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy.

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 3.7% of the land in Raccuja, compared with 6.0% 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 contaminated sites in Raccuja.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Raccuja: 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 Raccuja 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 22 inhabited census areas in Raccuja. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 62 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 84.8%
  • good 15.2%

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 083069. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.