Sicily · Enna
Agira
Birthplace of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus and burial site of 490 Canadian soldiers of the 1943 campaign.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Agira is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Subscribe and you get Agira's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- By car
- 53 min from Catania
- Population
- 7,567
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A18°
- M23°
- J30°
- J34°
- A33°
- S28°
- O22°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Agira sits on the summit and slopes of Monte Teja in the mid-valley of the Salso river, thirty-five kilometers east of Enna. The town stands on the site of the Sicel city of Agyrion, where the Greek general Timoleon settled ten thousand colonists in 339 BC. The lower town spreads at the base of the mountain while the old quarter climbs its slopes in stone lanes toward the castle at the summit, a layout that stacks Greek, Byzantine, Norman and Aragonese remains one above the other as the ground rises.
In July 1943 Agira fell to the Canadians after five days of fighting, the largest Canadian battle of the Sicilian campaign. The town's position on high ground, the same position that made it a Sicel stronghold and a Norman abbey seat centuries earlier, is what made it worth the five days of fighting: whoever held Monte Teja held the central Sicilian interior below it.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 54 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 2 h 5 min.
Coming by train into Catania Centrale? Agira is about 55 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Catania airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Reale Abbazia di San Filippo
The church stands as the central monument of the town, its Basilian origins folded into the Norman reconstruction; the crypt beneath holds the patron saint.
Castello di Agira
Medieval fortress on the summit of Monte Teja above the town, with surviving walls and towers; the strategic outpost that controlled the central Sicilian interior.
Agira Canadian War Cemetery
The cemetery sits on a hill outside the town, its rows of graves facing the slopes of Monte Teja where the fighting that put the soldiers there took place.
Centro storico medievale
Steep stone lanes climbing Monte Teja from the lower town to the castle, layered with Greek, Byzantine, Norman and Aragonese remains.
Living here
Could you live here?
Agira meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 7,567 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Enna, a city of 25,102, is 43 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 7,567, down 9.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Enna, 43 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Leonforte, 14 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €410 to €610 per m² to buy, €1.50 to €2.20 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 97% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Catania airport (CTA), 54 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 5 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
1% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Senegal and Tunisia, against 9% across Italy. There are 191 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 50% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Enna province ranks 87th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Leonforte, 14 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caltanissetta, 50 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Caltanissetta, 50 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 116 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Sicily spends about €1,820 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €524 a year for water, on the Sicily average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 4% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
DIODORUS SICULUS
Birthplace around 90 BC of the Greek historian who wrote the forty-book Bibliotheca historica, of which fifteen books survive intact.
SAN FILIPPO
Royal Abbey founded by Basilian monks in the seventh or eighth century, rebuilt by Roger I after 1095; patron saint buried beneath the church.
CANADIAN CEMETERY
Only Canadian war cemetery in Italy holds the 490 graves of soldiers killed taking Agira in five days of July 1943 fighting, the largest Canadian battle of the Sicilian campaign.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Pagnotta del Dittaino DOP and Pesca di Leonforte IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Agira known for?
- Birthplace of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus and burial site of 490 Canadian soldiers of the 1943 campaign.
- Where is Agira?
- Agira is a comune in the province of Enna, in Sicily, at 650 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Agira?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Catania (CTA), about 54 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Agira?
- About 2 h 5 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Agira?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. July is the warmest month, averaging 34 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Agira?
- Cammarata, Calascibetta and Sambuca di Sicilia.
- How many people live in Agira?
- 7,567 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Agira a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Agira is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Enna, is 43 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Leonforte, 14 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 97% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 650 m
- Population: 7,567
- Surface area: 164.08 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Agira appears in
Similar
Towns like Agira
Cammarata
Province: Agrigento
both inland in Sicily · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Calascibetta
Province: Enna
both inland in Sicily · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Sambuca di Sicilia
Province: Agrigento
both inland in Sicily · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Caltagirone
Province: Catania
both inland in Sicily · both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Clusone
Province: Bergamo
both between 3,000 and 10,000 people · both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Palazzolo Acreide
Province: Siracusa
both between 3,000 and 10,000 people · both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Agira is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Agira comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 525 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.