Sicily · Messina
Novara di Sicilia
A stone village at 650 meters where the Peloritani meet the Nebrodi, with a cheese race tumbling down the main street at Carnival.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Novara di Sicilia is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- By car
- 1 h 29 min from Catania
- Population
- 1,078
- J11°
- F12°
- M12°
- A16°
- M20°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Novara di Sicilia sits at 650 meters at the point where the Peloritani and Nebrodi ranges meet, with the pointed limestone Rocca Salvatesta rising to 1,340 meters behind it. Lombards from northern Italy settled here between 1061 and 1072 under the Norman conquest, and a Gallo-Italic dialect from that migration is still spoken in the village. Roger of Lauria built a castle here in the thirteenth century.
The Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta dates from the sixteenth, a sandstone Renaissance building above the medieval lanes. Every Carnival the village hosts the Lancio del Maiorchino: teams roll 10-to-18-kilogram wheels of aged pecorino cheese two kilometers downhill from Via Duomo to Piano Don Michele, a contest that dates from the early 1600s when shepherds tested the maturation of their cheese on these same stones.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 1 h 40 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 2 h 31 min.
Coming by train into Messina Centrale? Novara di Sicilia is about 1 h 5 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Catania airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Sixteenth-century cathedral in sandstone, the main building of the historic center with a Renaissance façade overlooking the village.
Rocca Salvatesta
Pointed limestone peak of 1,340 meters behind the village, called the Matterhorn of Sicily for its shape and dominating the Peloritani-Nebrodi divide.
Centro storico
Medieval stone village of arched lanes and decorated façades on the slopes of Rocca Salvatesta, listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Ruderi del Castello
Remains of the thirteenth-century castle built by Roger of Lauria above the village, on the rock that gave Novara its strategic position.
Living here
Could you live here?
Novara di Sicilia is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,078. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Terme Vigliatore, is 27 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Messina, a city of 217,033, is 1 h 14 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 1,078, down 21.8% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Messina, 1 h 14 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, 16 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €460 to €670 per m² to buy, €1.90 to €2.30 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 93% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Catania airport (CTA), 1 h 40 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 31 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Albania, against 9% across Italy. There are 451 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 76% 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, 16 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Messina, 39 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Messina, 39 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 156 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 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 0.5% 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. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 6% 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
MAIORCHINO
Hard pecorino cheese of the Peloritani, aged in wheels of 10 to 18 kilograms and produced in Novara since the seventeenth century.
CHEESE RACE
Carnival contest where teams roll Maiorchino wheels two kilometers downhill from Via Duomo to Piano Don Michele, recognized by UNESCO.
GALLO-ITALIC
Northern Italian Lombard dialect from the 1061-72 settlement still spoken alongside Sicilian in the village.
Common questions
- What is Novara di Sicilia known for?
- Novara di Sicilia is a stone village at 650 meters where the Peloritani meet the Nebrodi, with a cheese race tumbling down the main street at Carnival.
- Where is Novara di Sicilia?
- Novara di Sicilia is a comune in the province of Messina, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to Novara di Sicilia?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Catania (CTA), about 1 h 40 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Novara di Sicilia?
- About 2 h 31 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Novara di Sicilia?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Novara di Sicilia?
- Castel di Lucio, Sutera and Santa Cristina Gela.
- How many people live in Novara di Sicilia?
- 1,078 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Novara di Sicilia a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Novara di Sicilia is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Terme Vigliatore, is 27 min away. The nearest city, Messina, is 1 h 14 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, 16 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 93% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 650 m
- Population: 1,078
- Surface area: 49.18 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 Novara di Sicilia appears in
- The prettiest villages in the province of MessinaMessina provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 930 residents
- The best hill towns within 90 minutes of CataniaNear Cataniahill townwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 1,078 residents · closest 45 min away
- The best small hill towns in SicilySicilyhill townsmall10 towns · smallest 652 residents
Similar
Towns like Novara di Sicilia
What all six share with Novara di Sicilia: under 3,000 people
Castel di Lucio
Province: Messina
both inland in Sicily · both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Sutera
Province: Caltanissetta
both inland in Sicily · both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Santa Cristina Gela
Province: Palermo
both inland in Sicily · both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Sant'Alfio
Province: Catania
both inland in Sicily
Pacentro
Province: L'Aquila
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Gromo
Province: Bergamo
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
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