Sicily · Messina
Castelmola
A rock village at 529 meters directly above Taormina, the upper acropolis of ancient Tauromenium with a Norman castle and a 1947 almond-wine bar.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Castelmola is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Subscribe and you get Castelmola's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 3 min from Catania
- Population
- 1,076
- J12°
- F13°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J28°
- J31°
- A30°
- S26°
- O21°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The village occupies a steep limestone rock two kilometers and several hundred meters above the coast, reached by a climb that Taormina itself does not require. The site served as an upper acropolis to Greek Tauromenium below it from the late fourth century BC, a relation of height and defense rather than distance: whoever held the summit watched the lower town and the sea beyond it. The Byzantines fortified the rock around 800, and the local leader Costantino Caramalo strengthened the walls against Arab raids in the ninth century, work the Normans later built on when they raised the castle whose ruins still stand.
The medieval plan of stone lanes climbs from the church at the center up toward that castle, the whole village stacked along the one rock rather than spread across it. The result is a place defined by its verticality: a fortress town that grew inward and upward because it had nowhere else to go, and that still looks down on the city it was built to guard.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 1 h 14 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 3 h 33 min.
Coming by train into Messina Centrale? Castelmola is about 50 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Catania airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Normanno (Castello di Mola)
Ruined walls on the summit, standing over Byzantine and Greek foundations. The climb up gives no roof and no interior, only the rock line and the drop on every side.
Duomo di San Nicolò di Bari
Mother church at the center of the village, rebuilt in the early twentieth century with a Baroque interior and original portal.
Piazza Sant'Antonio
Mosaic-paved belvedere with views of Etna, the Gulf of Naxos, and Taormina more than three hundred meters below.
Bar Turrisi
Four floors of phallic décor inspired by Mediterranean fertility cults, listed by Focus as one of the world's most peculiar establishments. The wine is drunk standing among it.
Centro storico
Medieval stone village stacked on the rock, with stepped lanes, narrow piazzas, and the typical Taormina architecture of compact stone houses.
Living here
Could you live here?
Castelmola is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,076. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Taormina, is 18 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Acireale, a city of 50,611, is 55 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 1,076, down 2.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Acireale, 55 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Taormina, 2 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,400 to €2,050 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €4.50 per m² a month to rent
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 65% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Catania airport (CTA), 1 h 14 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 3 h 33 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Tunisia, Germany and the United Kingdom, against 9% across Italy. 29 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the United Kingdom. There are 270 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 41% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Messina province ranks 91st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Taormina, 2 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Messina, 42 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Messina, 42 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 172 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, 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. 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. In Messina, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.06, a meal in a pizzeria €11.45 and a man's haircut €14.72.
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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 13% 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
UPPER ACROPOLIS
The fortified rock above Taormina, used as Tauromenium's upper acropolis from the fourth century BC and refortified by Byzantines and Normans.
ALMOND WINE
Bar Turrisi has served vino alla mandorla since 1947, fusing a dry white with bitter almonds, aromatic herbs and citrus.
VIEW OF ETNA
From Piazza Sant'Antonio the gaze runs across the Gulf of Naxos to Etna and down to the Ionian, an angle Taormina cannot match.
Common questions
- What is Castelmola known for?
- Castelmola is a rock village at 529 meters directly above Taormina, the upper acropolis of ancient Tauromenium with a Norman castle and a 1947 almond-wine bar.
- Where is Castelmola?
- Castelmola is a comune in the province of Messina, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to Castelmola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Catania (CTA), about 1 h 14 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Castelmola?
- About 3 h 33 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Castelmola?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Castelmola?
- Savoca, Castroreale and Forza d'Agrò.
- How many people live in Castelmola?
- 1,076 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Castelmola a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Castelmola is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Taormina, is 18 min away. The nearest city, Acireale, is 55 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Taormina, 2 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 65% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 529 m
- Population: 1,076
- Surface area: 16.83 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 Castelmola appears in
- The best coastal towns in the province of MessinaMessina provincecoastal6 towns · smallest 930 residents
- The prettiest villages within 90 minutes of CataniaNear Cataniawithin 90 minprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,076 residents · closest 49 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of MessinaMessina provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 930 residents
- The best small coastal towns in SicilySicilycoastalsmall8 towns · smallest 930 residents
Similar
Towns like Castelmola
What all six share with Castelmola: hill towns
Savoca
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast · both under 3,000 people
Castroreale
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast · both under 3,000 people
Forza d'Agrò
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast
Sant'Alfio
Province: Catania
both under 3,000 people
Compiano
Province: Parma
both under 3,000 people
San Mauro Forte
Province: Matera
both under 3,000 people
The letter
Castelmola 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 Castelmola comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 534 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.