Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Sutera: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Sutera

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 Senatore Giuseppe Mormino 1, Sutera.

Sutera, the Rabato quarter below the San Paolino rock

Sutera is easy to spot from afar: its houses huddle at the foot of Monte San Paolino, a gypsum crag towering over the hills of inland Sicily, with the sanctuary on top. The oldest quarter is the Rabato, of Arab origin, a tangle of lanes and stairways. The village stands at around 590 metres among wheat fields and pastures, and Caltanissetta is the provincial capital people look to.

Buying here almost always means choosing a stone house in the old centre, small or on several levels, often in need of renovation, with pedestrian access and steep streets. For services, secondary schools and a hospital you drive to the larger towns. Winters are moderate (climate zone D) and summers hot. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

Sutera has lost many residents: 1,156 in 2023, 280 fewer than in 2011, a drop of 19.5% according to Istat, the national statistics office. The average age is 50.9 against 45.2 for the province of Caltanissetta, over-65s are 31.9% against 23.3%, and foreign residents 4.4%.

The municipality is in seismic zone 3 of the Civil Protection classification, like 18 of the 22 municipalities in the province, with an expected ground acceleration of 0.068 g. In an old masonry house it is still worth having walls, floors and roof checked before buying.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps and the report finds the land parcel from the address. Below the crag and on the slopes, landslide hazard changes from one lane to the next and is read on the official maps.

Key points

  • Houses at the foot of Monte San Paolino, with the Rabato quarter.
  • Population down 19.5% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration 0.068 g.
  • Steep centre: check access and landslide hazard by address.

Overview

Sutera is a municipality in the province of Caltanissetta, in Sicilia. At the end of 2023 it had 1,156 residents, among the smallest in the province (20 of 22).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sutera is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (18 of 22) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.068 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 19.5%. The estimated average age is 51 years, higher than the province average (45). 32% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 23%). Foreign residents make up 4.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.0 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sutera declared an average taxable income of 15,795 euros, below the provincial average (19,090 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Sutera is in climate zone D, with 1,557 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 590 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sutera has 3 schools and 1 pharmacy.

The data shows no grocery shops and supermarkets within the municipality, against a provincial average of 0.5 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 2.6% of the land in Sutera, compared with 4.8% in the province and 6.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is low. 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 contaminated sites in Sutera.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Sutera: 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 Sutera 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 9 inhabited census areas in Sutera. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 63 or more.

Residents by band

  • fair 55.4%
  • good 44.6%

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

ISTAT code 085020. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.