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Santa Cristina Gela: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Santa Cristina Gela

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 Belmonte Mezzagno 1, Santa Cristina Gela.

Santa Cristina Gela, an Arbëreshë village in the hills of Palermo

In the hills south of Palermo, at around 670 metres, Santa Cristina Gela is one of Sicily's Arbëreshë communities, founded by Albanian exiles, like nearby Piana degli Albanesi. The language and traditions they brought can still be heard in the village, and the built-up area is surrounded by fields, pasture and hills.

Palermo remains the city for work, hospitals, the university and offices, and is reached by car on hill roads. Buyers find two- or three-storey village houses, detached homes built on the edges in recent decades and a few country houses. The climate zone is D: in the hills winter is colder and windier than on the coast, so budget for heating.

Residents here have increased: 993 in 2023, up 7.4% on the 925 of 2011, according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 45.5, against 44.7 in the metropolitan city of Palermo, and over-65s make up 20.4% (22.8% in the province). Households have 2.17 members on average. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

The municipality is in seismic zone 2, like almost the whole province (81 of 82 municipalities), with an expected ground acceleration of 0.179 g. For a house built before modern earthquake rules, ask to see the design and have the structure assessed.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps, and the report traces the plot from the address, showing the slope, the official landslide maps and the local price band.

Key points

  • Arbëreshë community in the hills south of Palermo.
  • Residents up 7.4% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration 0.179 g.
  • Palermo for work and services, reached by car.

Overview

Santa Cristina Gela is a municipality in the province of Palermo, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 993 residents, among the smallest in the province (76 of 82).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Cristina Gela is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (81 of 82) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.179 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Santa Cristina Gela, 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 7.4%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 20% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 1.9% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Cristina Gela declared an average taxable income of 17,733 euros, below the provincial average (21,337 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Santa Cristina Gela is in climate zone D, with 1,719 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 674 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Cristina Gela 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 4.3% of the land in Santa Cristina Gela, compared with 5.7% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 0.7 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Official databases list no contaminated sites in Santa Cristina Gela.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santa Cristina Gela: 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 Santa Cristina Gela 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 17 inhabited census areas in Santa Cristina Gela. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 40.9%
  • good 59.1%

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 082066. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.