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Roccavaldina: 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 Roccavaldina

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 Roma 1, Roccavaldina.

Roccavaldina, in the hills between Messina and Milazzo

People who know Roccavaldina have usually heard of its old pharmacy, an apothecary's shop that keeps a collection of sixteenth-century majolica jars. The village sits in the hills above the Tyrrhenian coast of the province of Messina, between Messina and Milazzo, at around 320 metres, with its centre gathered along the ridge and farmland sloping down towards the sea.

The coastal strip, with the Messina to Palermo motorway and the railway, is just below, and from there people reach Milazzo and Messina for work, secondary schools and hospitals. In the village you mostly find old houses on several floors, often in need of updating, and a few newer detached homes on the edges. The climate is zone C, with short, mild winters; in summer the sun on walls and roofs matters more.

In 2023 there were 1,004 residents, down 12.6% on the 1,149 of 2011. The average age is 47.9, slightly above the provincial average (46.7), over-65s make up 26.7% and foreign residents just 1.6%. Declared incomes are lower than in the province as a whole.

Roccavaldina is in seismic zone 2, the same as 90 other municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.176 g. With an old building in the centre, what you need to know before buying is whether any structural work has been done, and who designed it.

From the address, the report finds the plot on the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) maps. On a ridge with steep slopes, that is the starting point for reading the official landslide maps, together with the local price band and the distance to services.

Key points

  • Hill village above the coast between Messina and Milazzo.
  • Old pharmacy with sixteenth-century majolica jars.
  • Residents down 12.6% since 2011, foreign residents 1.6%.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.176 g.

Overview

Roccavaldina is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,004 residents, ranked 82 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Roccavaldina 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 0.176 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Roccavaldina, 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 12.6%. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 27% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Roccavaldina declared an average taxable income of 17,084 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Roccavaldina is in climate zone C, with 1,174 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 320 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Roccavaldina has 2 schools and 1 pharmacy. The Overture Maps data also lists 1 green area.

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 8.2% of the land in Roccavaldina, 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

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. 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 contaminated sites in Roccavaldina.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Roccavaldina: 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 Roccavaldina 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 10 inhabited census areas in Roccavaldina. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 100.0%

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 083073. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.