Santo Stefano di Camastra: 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
Land sheet 6 free checks
Search for an address in Santo Stefano di Camastra
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 Stoviglieri 1, Santo Stefano di Camastra.
Santo Stefano di Camastra, Sicily's ceramics town on the Tyrrhenian
On the coast road between Palermo and Messina, Santo Stefano di Camastra is easy to recognise by its ceramics: vases, plates and tiles displayed outside the workshops, on façades and in the squares. Working clay is the town's tradition, and there is a museum devoted to it. The present town was rebuilt near the sea in the late 17th century, after a landslide destroyed the older village, on a grid of straight streets that is still visible.
The location is convenient: the town has a station on the Palermo to Messina railway and an exit on the motorway linking the two cities. The road up to Mistretta and the Nebrodi mountains also starts here. Buyers will find houses in the grid-plan centre, small blocks and holiday homes towards the sea; the data lists 44 services, 8 of them linked to schools: the town also serves several inland villages.
There are 4,349 residents, down 7.0% since 2011. The average age is 47.0, close to the provincial figure (46.7), over-65s make up 26.0% and foreign residents 4.6%. Declared incomes are below the average for the province of Messina. The climate is mild, in climate zone B.
In the province of Messina, 17 municipalities are in seismic zone 1, the highest in the Civil Protection classification, and 91 in zone 2, Santo Stefano among them, where the expected ground acceleration is about 0.175 g. In blocks of flats from the 1960s and 1970s, ask for the structural design and inspection certificate; near the sea, also check the state of the steel in the concrete and the balconies.
The town's history is a reminder that landslides matter here: on the slopes and along the streams the report reads the official maps for the address and measures the gradient. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps are published.
Key points
- Ceramics town on the Tyrrhenian coast, gateway to the Nebrodi.
- Railway station and motorway exit between Palermo and Messina.
- Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.175 g.
- 4,349 residents, down 7.0% since 2011.
Overview
Santo Stefano di Camastra is a municipality in the province of Messina, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 4,349 residents, ranked 25 of 108 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Santo Stefano di Camastra 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 0.175 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Santo Stefano di Camastra, 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 7.0%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 26% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 4.6% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Santo Stefano di Camastra declared an average taxable income of 18,598 euros, below the provincial average (20,687 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Santo Stefano di Camastra is in climate zone B, with 746 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 December to 31 March, for up to 8 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 70 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Santo Stefano di Camastra has 8 schools and 2 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 4 grocery shops and supermarkets, 2 healthcare facilities and 2 sports facilities.
There are 0.5 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.8).
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 7.9% of the land in Santo Stefano di Camastra, 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 Santo Stefano di Camastra.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Santo Stefano di Camastra: 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 Santo Stefano di Camastra 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 38 inhabited census areas in Santo Stefano di Camastra. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 74 or more.
Residents by band
- modest 1.3%
- fair 10.1%
- good 88.6%
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 083091. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.