Santa Venerina: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Catania, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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Search for an address in Santa Venerina
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 Provinciale 1, Santa Venerina.
Santa Venerina, on the eastern flank of Etna
From the streets of Santa Venerina you can see the sea. The town lies on the eastern flank of Etna, between Acireale and Giarre, at a little over three hundred metres, in a landscape of lava-stone terraces, vineyards and citrus groves, with hamlets scattered across the slopes. Catania is about thirty kilometres away.
Buyers here mostly find detached houses and villas with some land, and in the centre houses built of lava stone. Many families work in Acireale or Catania and drive; the Catania to Messina motorway runs a few minutes downhill. The town is small, but it has more schools and sports facilities per resident than the provincial average.
In 2023 there were 8,424 residents, up 0.9% on 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office. The estimated average age is 44.5, in line with the province of Catania, and over-65s make up 21.4%. Households average 2.44 people and foreign residents account for 2.4%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.
Earthquakes are the main issue. Santa Venerina is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification, like 54 of the 58 municipalities in the metropolitan area, yet expected acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.225 g, a high value. On Etna's eastern side, besides the major earthquakes of eastern Sicily, there are shallow tremors caused by the volcano's faults, which strike small areas very hard. Before buying, get a structural survey and ask whether the building has been damaged and repaired in the past, with the paperwork for the work.
When the volcano is active, ash can fall here too, and gutters and flat roofs need clearing. The report checks landslide and flood hazard along the gullies at the exact address and, with the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, traces the plot.
Key points
- Eastern flank of Etna, between Acireale and Giarre.
- Population up 0.9% since 2011, average age 44.5.
- Seismic zone 2, high expected acceleration: about 0.225 g.
- Volcanic faults: get a structural survey before buying.
Overview
Santa Venerina is a municipality in the province of Catania, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 8,424 residents, ranked 33 of 58 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santa Venerina 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 0.225 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Santa Venerina, 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 21% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santa Venerina declared an average taxable income of 18,905 euros, below the provincial average (20,793 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santa Venerina is in climate zone C, with 1,094 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 337 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santa Venerina has 10 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 6 grocery shops and supermarkets, 3 healthcare facilities, 7 sports facilities and 2 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 18.2% of the land in Santa Venerina, 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 Santa Venerina.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santa Venerina: 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 Venerina 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 40 inhabited census areas in Santa Venerina. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 66 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 1.3%
- fair 22.4%
- good 76.3%
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
- Seismic classification of municipalities, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 2025-05.
- MPS04 seismic hazard model, INGV. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2004 model.
- Data by census section, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, residents at the end of 2023, compared with the 2011 census.
- Places, Overture Maps Foundation. Licence CDLA Permissive 2.0 and others depending on provider, release 2026-10-21.0.
- Income and main IRPEF variables by municipality, MEF, Dipartimento delle Finanze. Licence CC BY 3.0 IT, tax year 2024.
- Climate zones and heating degree days of municipalities (Presidential Decree 412/1993, Annex A), Normattiva. Licence CC BY 4.0, current text.
- Land take, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services, ISPRA e SNPA. Licence CC BY 4.0, 2024 data.
- Predictive radon map by municipality, ISPRA. Licence CC BY 4.0, version 2022-11.
- Contaminated sites, ISPRA, MOSAICO - Banca dati nazionale dei siti oggetto di procedimento di bonifica. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 12 November 2026.
- Liveability index by census area, Vicinalia, from the data in the report sections. Licence CC BY-SA 4.0, worked out on 30 September 2026.
- List of Italian municipalities, Istat. Licence CC BY 4.0, updated to 21 February 2026.
ISTAT code 087048. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.