Sicily · Palermo
Geraci Siculo
A Madonie ridge village at 1,077 meters, capital of the Ventimiglia marquisate from 1258 and the first marquisate granted in Sicily.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Geraci Siculo is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Bandiera Lilla.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 1 h 46 min from Palermo
- Population
- 1,664
- J8°
- F10°
- M11°
- A14°
- M19°
- J25°
- J29°
- A28°
- S24°
- O19°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Geraci Siculo sits at 1,077 meters on a sandstone ridge in the Madonie, the second-highest borgo of the Parco delle Madonie, after Petralia Soprana, and one of the highest in Sicily. The first fortified nucleus dates to the mid-eighth century, when Byzantines retreated inland to escape Arab raids. After the Norman conquest Roger I of Hauteville created the County of Geraci in 1072 and gave it to the Ventimiglia family; in 1258 the county was elevated to the first marquisate granted in Sicily.
The Castello dei Ventimiglia, on the massive sandstone rock above the village, reached its definitive form in the early fourteenth century and still dominates the skyline. From the ridge the view runs from Etna in the southeast to the Aeolian Islands in the north. The Madonie pasture economy underwrites the local cheese, particularly provola dei Nebrodi and ricotta from sheep flocks on the surrounding peaks. The village placed third in the national Borgo dei Borghi competition.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 2 h 14 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 1 h 46 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello dei Ventimiglia
Fourteenth-century castle on a sandstone outcrop above the village, the high point of the marquisate of Geraci from 1258.
Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Maggiore
Mother church at the center of the village, with Renaissance and Baroque elements and works recovered from the Ventimiglia chapel.
Centro storico
Medieval Madonie layout of stone houses on the ridge, with stepped lanes and narrow piazzas oriented to the castle rock.
Chiesa di Santo Stefano
Twelfth-century church on the lower ridge, one of the oldest religious buildings in the Madonie.
Parco delle Madonie
Sicily's largest mountain park outside the Nebrodi, with beech and oak forest, ridge trails to Pizzo Carbonara and high pasture country.
Living here
Could you live here?
Geraci Siculo is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,664. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Castelbuono, is 33 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Caltanissetta, a city of 58,182, is 1 h 17 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 1,664, down 15.2% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Caltanissetta, 1 h 17 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Petralia Sottana, 19 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €395 to €580 per m² to buy, €1.50 to €2.00 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 98% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Palermo airport (PMO), 2 h 6 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 1 h 46 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Bangladesh, Egypt and Mali, against 9% across Italy. There are 351 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 63% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Palermo province ranks 97th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Petralia Sottana, 19 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caltanissetta, 45 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Caltanissetta, 45 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 77 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, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.66% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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. In Palermo, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.26, a meal in a pizzeria €13.56 and a man's haircut €17.31.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 14% 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
VENTIMIGLIA MARQUISATE
The first marquisate granted in Sicily, elevated 1258, with the Ventimiglia family ruling the county of Geraci from the ridge castle.
MADONIE HEIGHTS
At 1,077 meters, the second-highest borgo in the Parco delle Madonie, after Petralia Soprana, and among the highest villages on the island.
MADONIE PASTURE
Sheep and goat economy on the surrounding peaks, supplying the provola, ricotta and pecorino of the inner Madonie.
Common questions
- What is Geraci Siculo known for?
- Geraci Siculo is a Madonie ridge village at 1,077 meters, capital of the Ventimiglia marquisate from 1258 and the first marquisate granted in Sicily.
- Where is Geraci Siculo?
- Geraci Siculo is a comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, at 1077 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Geraci Siculo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Palermo (PMO), about 2 h 6 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Geraci Siculo?
- About 1 h 46 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Geraci Siculo?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Geraci Siculo?
- Petralia Sottana, Petralia Soprana and Scanno.
- How many people live in Geraci Siculo?
- 1,664 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Geraci Siculo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Geraci Siculo is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Castelbuono, is 33 min away. The nearest city, Caltanissetta, is 1 h 17 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Petralia Sottana, 19 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1077 m
- Population: 1,664
- Surface area: 113.35 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 Geraci Siculo appears in
- The 6 best mountain towns in the province of PalermoPalermo provincemountain6 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park in the province of PalermoPalermo provinceinside a park6 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The best small mountain towns in SicilySicilymountainsmall7 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The best small towns inside a nature park in SicilySicilyinside a parksmall7 towns · smallest 1,516 residents
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park in SicilySicilyinside a parkprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The 8 best high-altitude villages in SicilySicilyabove 800 m8 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
Similar
Towns like Geraci Siculo
What all six share with Geraci Siculo: high in the mountains · under 3,000 people · mountain towns above 1,000 metres
The letter
Geraci Siculo 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 Geraci Siculo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 493 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.