Sciacca: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Agrigento, Sicilia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.
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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: Contrada Piana Scunchipane 3, Sciacca.
Sciacca, fishing port, spa waters and ceramics
Sciacca's fishing harbour is one of the busiest in Sicily, and from the sea the town rises in terraces, with the old centre still marked by stretches of wall and ancient gates. For centuries it has been known for its thermal waters and the natural vapour caves of Monte Kronio, for hand-painted ceramics and for its carnival floats. It lies on the south-west coast of the island, in the province of Agrigento, facing the Strait of Sicily.
Buyers here choose between very different settings. The old centre is on a slope, with old houses that often need renovation and lanes too narrow for cars, while newer districts spread over the higher, flatter ground behind it. Along the coast east and west of town there are holiday villages and second homes, with a market driven by summer. There is no railway: travel is by the coastal state road towards Agrigento and Mazara del Vallo and by the fast road to Palermo.
Istat, the national statistics office, counts 38,749 residents in 2023, down 5.3% since 2011, or 2,150 fewer people. The average age is 46.0 against 45.6 in the province, over-65s are 25.0% and foreign residents just 2.1%. Incomes are in line with the provincial average. The climate is mild, climate zone B.
The province of Agrigento has municipalities in every seismic zone of the Civil Protection scale, from 3 in zone 1 to 1 in zone 4. Sciacca is in zone 2, with an expected ground acceleration of about 0.123 g, and the Belice valley, a little to the north, is a reminder that earthquakes here have flattened whole villages. In old stone houses in the centre, often altered over time, ask for structural checks before buying.
On the slopes and the higher stretches of coast, where the ground can give way, the report checks the official maps for the address. The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps.
Key points
- Fishing port, Monte Kronio spa waters and ceramics.
- 38,749 residents, down 5.3% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2; 3 municipalities in the province in zone 1.
- No railway: coastal state road and fast road to Palermo.
Overview
Sciacca is a municipality in the province of Agrigento, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 38,749 residents, the second most populous in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sciacca is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (27 of 43) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.123 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Sciacca, 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 5.3%. The estimated average age is 46 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 2.1% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sciacca declared an average taxable income of 18,349 euros, in line with the province (18,027 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Sciacca is in climate zone B, with 887 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 60 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sciacca has 37 schools and 12 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 25 grocery shops and supermarkets, 32 healthcare facilities, 19 sports facilities and 5 parks and green areas.
There are 0.8 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.6).
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 7.5% of the land in Sciacca, compared with 5.8% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 4.7 hectares.
Radon and contaminated sites
According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.
Official databases list one contaminated site, or site still under investigation, in Sciacca, and 3 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Sciacca: 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 Sciacca 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 215 inhabited census areas in Sciacca. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 79 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 16.1%
- good 36.0%
- very good 47.9%
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 084041. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.