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San Fratello: 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 San Fratello

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, San Fratello.

San Fratello, the Nebrodi and a northern dialect

San Fratello is one of the Nebrodi mountain villages where people still speak a Gallo-Italic dialect, a legacy of settlers who came from northern Italy in the Middle Ages, quite unlike the Sicilian spoken nearby. The town sits high up, above 600 metres, with the Tyrrhenian coast visible below, and its territory includes woods and pasture where the San Fratello horse, a breed named after the town, is raised. During Holy Week the town holds the Festa dei Giudei, with red costumes and masks.

The housing market is that of a mountain town that has lost many residents. There are empty village houses, often owned by families who emigrated, with low prices but conditions to check carefully: roof, damp, wiring and above all the structure. The fuller range of services is on the coast, down a mountain road.

Istat, the national statistics office, records 3,222 residents (2023), down 18.3% since 2011, a very steep fall. The average age is 47.1, slightly above the provincial figure (46.7), and 24.9% are over 65. Foreign residents are almost absent, at 0.6%. Declared incomes are well below the provincial average.

San Fratello is in seismic zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.181 g in the built-up area. On the Nebrodi slopes the ground changes a great deal from one spot to the next, so the gradient and the official landslide maps need to be read for the individual address, which is what the report does.

Key points

  • Nebrodi town with a Gallo-Italic dialect, above 600 metres.
  • 3,222 residents, down 18.3% since 2011.
  • Foreign residents 0.6%, 24.9% over 65.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.181 g.

Overview

San Fratello is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 3,222 residents, ranked 35 of 108 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, San Fratello 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 0.181 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in San Fratello, 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 18.3%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 0.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in San Fratello declared an average taxable income of 14,285 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

San Fratello is in climate zone D, with 1,781 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 675 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, San Fratello has 4 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 3 grocery shops and supermarkets and 2 parks and green areas.

The data shows no healthcare facilities within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.8 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 2.5% of the land in San Fratello, 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 San Fratello.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within San Fratello: 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 San Fratello 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 32 inhabited census areas in San Fratello. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 68 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 28.2%
  • good 71.8%

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 083078. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.