Scicli: what to know before buying a home
A municipality in the province of Ragusa, 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: Corso Garibaldi 1, Scicli.
Scicli, baroque in the valley and villages by the sea
Scicli is one of the towns of the Val di Noto in south-east Sicily that were rebuilt in baroque style after the earthquake of 1693, and together with the others it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The centre lies at the bottom of a narrow valley between limestone hills, with churches and palazzi along Via Mormino Penna. Many people know it from television: the town hall served as the police station in the Inspector Montalbano series.
The municipality reaches the sea with three coastal villages, Donnalucata, Cava d'Aliga and Sampieri, where holiday homes and summer lets are concentrated. Between the town and the coast the countryside is covered in greenhouses, one of the main sources of work in the area. Anyone buying an old house in the centre should expect stairs, steep streets and work on the stone walls; on the coast, salt air and upkeep are the issues.
Scicli is not losing residents, which is unusual in Sicily: 26,813 people lived here in 2023, up 3.4% on 2011. The estimated average age is 44.6, close to the 44.0 of the province of Ragusa, and foreign nationals make up 9.5%. Declared incomes are in line with the province, where they are low.
The 1693 earthquake is a reminder that the risk is real. On the Civil Protection scale Scicli is in seismic zone 2, while 5 municipalities in the province are in zone 1, and expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.130 g. For old stone buildings, and for houses built without a seismic design, have the structure checked before signing.
In the valley the streams can swell after storms, and below the rock faces there is a risk of rockfalls. The report checks landslide and flood maps for the address and uses the Revenue Agency's cadastral maps to find the land parcel. Winters are very mild (climate zone B).
Key points
- Val di Noto baroque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Seaside villages: Donnalucata, Cava d'Aliga, Sampieri.
- Population up 3.4% since 2011.
- Seismic zone 2, expected ground acceleration about 0.130 g.
Overview
Scicli is a municipality in the province of Ragusa, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 26,813 residents, ranked 5 of 12 municipalities in the province.
Earthquakes
For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Scicli is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (7 of 12) are in the same zone.
In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.130 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.
For anyone buying in Scicli, 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 3.4%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 9.5% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.
Income and climate
In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Scicli declared an average taxable income of 17,610 euros, in line with the province (17,930 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.
Scicli is in climate zone B, with 899 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 106 metres above sea level.
Services
In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Scicli has 27 schools and 9 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 17 grocery shops and supermarkets, 9 healthcare facilities, 12 sports facilities and 5 parks and green areas.
There are 0.3 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.5).
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 12.7% of the land in Scicli, compared with 10.6% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 1.8 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 no open contaminated sites in Scicli; 6 have been cleaned up or closed.
Landslides and flooding
Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Scicli: 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 Scicli 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 131 inhabited census areas in Scicli. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 75 or more.
Residents by band
- fair 29.2%
- good 30.4%
- very good 33.0%
- excellent 7.4%
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 088011. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.