Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Ragalna: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Ragalna

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 Paterno' 1, Ragalna.

Ragalna, on the southern slopes of Etna

Ragalna lives on the southern slopes of Mount Etna, above Paternò and Belpasso, with its centre at around eight hundred metres and vineyards, orchards and woods climbing towards the volcano. The town has grown mainly through detached houses scattered among the greenery.

Some of these houses were built as cooler summer retreats and are now often lived in all year round. Catania is less than an hour away by car. For buyers, what matters is access along country lanes, heating (winters here are colder than on the coast) and whether rural buildings have full planning compliance.

The growth shows in the figures: 4,217 residents in 2023, up 14.7% on 2011. The average age is 43.7 (44.2 in the province), over-65s make up 20.3% and foreign residents just 1.5%. Average declared incomes are a little above the provincial average.

The volcano also shapes the seismic risk. Ragalna is in zone 2 of the Civil Protection Department's classification, like 54 municipalities in the province of Catania, but the expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.215 g, a high value; Etna also produces frequent shallow tremors linked to volcanic activity. Ask for the design date, structural calculations and sign-off, especially for houses extended over the years. During eruptions ash can fall on this side too, so roofs and gutters need clearing.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are published, and the report traces the plot from the address, with the elevation and slope of the ground.

Key points

  • Scattered houses on Etna's southern slopes, above Paternò.
  • Up 14.7% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.215 g.
  • Volcanic ash and tremors: check roofs and structure.

Overview

Ragalna is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 4,217 residents, ranked 46 of 58 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Ragalna is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (54 of 58) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.215 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Ragalna, 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 grown by 14.7%. The estimated average age is 44 years, in line with the province. 20% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Ragalna declared an average taxable income of 21,485 euros, in line with the province (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Ragalna is in climate zone D, with 1,879 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 830 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Ragalna has 4 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 grocery shop, 5 sports facilities and 1 green area.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.7 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 6.5% of the land in Ragalna, compared with 8.0% 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 Ragalna.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Ragalna: 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 Ragalna 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 Ragalna. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 66 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 27.0%
  • good 73.0%

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 087058. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.