Sicily · Messina
Castroreale
A ridge town above the Milazzo plain, holding the royal name given to it in the fourteenth century and a second-place finish in the 2018 Borgo dei Borghi.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Castroreale is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 5 min from Catania
- Population
- 2,255
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J30°
- A29°
- S26°
- O22°
- N18°
- D14°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The ridge that carries the town sits between the Peloritani slopes and the Tyrrhenian, 394 meters above the Milazzo plain, a position that gave the place its name: castrum regale, the royal fortress. By the fifteenth century a Jewish community lived in the quarter behind what became the Monte di Pietà, and an arch of the lost Synagogue still stands there. The 1717 earthquake killed many residents and brought down buildings across the town, a break that separates what survives now from what came before it.
Against that loss, the church count is striking: over eighty churches for barely 2,255 people, a density that has left more sacred buildings than the town could ever have kept in active use, which is part of why so much of what remains ended up gathered into a single museum rather than left scattered through the countryside. The upper ridge, the site of the vanished Jewish quarter, and the churches spread through the streets below are three layers of the same small footprint, royal, mercantile and devotional, compressed onto one spur of rock above the plain.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 2 h 16 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 2 h 41 min.
Coming by train into Messina Centrale? Castroreale is about 1 h away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre di Federico II d'Aragona
The tower stands on the highest point of the ridge, the last upright piece of the castle Frederick II of Aragon ordered rebuilt, still read from the plain below as the mark of the town.
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Mother church on the central piazza, with a Renaissance portal and works from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Pinacoteca di Santa Maria degli Angeli
Parish museum housing what could be gathered after the territory's chapels and monasteries were lost, the objects now given a single roof.
Palazzo del Peculio
Elegant municipal palace on the corso, seat of the comune and one of the civil monuments of the historic center.
Monte di Pietà
Founded in 1581; behind it stands an arch of the lost Synagogue, the one visible trace of the town's medieval Jewish community.
Living here
Could you live here?
Castroreale is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,255. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Terme Vigliatore, is 31 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Messina, a city of 217,033, is 1 h 10 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 2,255, down 10.6% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Messina, 1 h 10 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, 4 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €500 to €730 per m² to buy, €1.80 to €2.50 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Catania airport (CTA), 2 h 16 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 41 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Tunisia and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. There are 281 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 55% 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 Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, 4 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Messina, 28 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Messina, 28 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 163 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% 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 0.4% 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 C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 25% 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
FREDERICK'S TOWER
Last surviving piece of the 1324 castle Frederick II of Aragon made his royal residence, anchoring the ridge above the Milazzo plain.
EIGHTY CHURCHES
Over eighty churches in a town of 2,255 residents, with the Pinacoteca holding the sacred art salvaged from lost monasteries.
BORGO DEI BORGHI 2018
Placed second in RAI's national competition in 2018, runner-up only to Gradara among towns from across Italy.
Common questions
- What is Castroreale known for?
- Castroreale is a ridge town at 394 meters above the Milazzo plain, holding the royal name given to it in the fourteenth century and a second-place finish in the 2018 Borgo dei Borghi.
- Where is Castroreale?
- Castroreale is a comune in the province of Messina, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to Castroreale?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Catania (CTA), about 2 h 16 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Castroreale?
- About 2 h 41 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Castroreale?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Castroreale?
- Savoca, Castelmola and Taormina.
- How many people live in Castroreale?
- 2,255 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Castroreale a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Castroreale is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Terme Vigliatore, is 31 min away. The nearest city, Messina, is 1 h 10 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, 4 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 394 m
- Population: 2,255
- Surface area: 53.07 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 Castroreale appears in
- The best coastal towns in the province of MessinaMessina provincecoastal6 towns · smallest 930 residents
- 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 Castroreale
What all six share with Castroreale: hill towns
Savoca
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast · both under 3,000 people
Castelmola
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast · both under 3,000 people
Taormina
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast
Forza d'Agrò
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast
Montefiore Conca
Province: Rimini
both under 3,000 people
Taurasi
Province: Avellino
both under 3,000 people
The letter
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