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Randazzo: 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 Randazzo

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 Giuseppe Bonaventura 1, Randazzo.

Randazzo, a lava-stone town on Etna's northern slope

Randazzo lies on the northern side of Etna, at around 750 metres, looking over the Alcantara valley and, beyond the river, the Nebrodi mountains. Its historic centre is built of dark lava stone, with the great churches of Santa Maria, San Nicolò and San Martino and palazzi of medieval origin along the main street.

House hunters here have three options. In the old centre there are small palazzi and stone houses, often needing restoration, with thick walls and timber floors. Around the town are more recent homes. In the countryside, among vineyards, orchards and woods, there are farmhouses and land, and since Etna wines became sought after, buyers have been arriving on the northern slope from abroad too. The Circumetnea railway, which loops around the volcano, has a station in town.

Living next to an active volcano has practical consequences. Ash from eruptions can fall on roofs, gutters and cars, and it helps to know how the council organises the clean-up; for land near old lava flows, look at the plans of the Civil Protection Department, Italy's national emergency agency. Earthquakes are the other issue: Randazzo is in seismic zone 2 on the national scale from 1 (highest) to 4, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.182 g. Before buying a stone house, have a surveyor assess the walls, their connections and the roof.

At the end of 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 10,151 residents, down 8.6% since 2011, and the town is older than the province: a mean age of 46.3 against 44.2, with 25.2% over 65. Foreign residents make up 2.9%. Services are proportionally broader than average, with 12 school buildings and 8 supermarkets, partly because Randazzo serves the surrounding villages.

At this altitude winters are cool and sometimes snowy. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps and the report finds the plot from the address, also checking slope and landslides.

Key points

  • Lava-stone town on Etna's northern slope, above the Alcantara.
  • Circumetnea railway station and vineyard countryside.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.182 g.
  • 25.2% over 65; population down 8.6% since 2011.

Overview

Randazzo is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 10,151 residents, ranked 28 of 58 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Randazzo 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 0.182 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Randazzo, 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 8.6%. The estimated average age is 46 years, higher than the province average (44). 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Randazzo declared an average taxable income of 17,669 euros, below the provincial average (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Randazzo is in climate zone D, with 1,934 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 765 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Randazzo has 12 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 8 grocery shops and supermarkets, 4 healthcare facilities, 8 sports facilities and 8 parks and green areas.

There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.7).

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 2.4% of the land in Randazzo, 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

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 no open contaminated sites in Randazzo; one has been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Randazzo: 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 Randazzo 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 Randazzo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 79 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.1%
  • fair 9.0%
  • good 47.0%
  • very good 43.9%

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 087038. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.