Sicily · Palermo
Polizzi Generosa
A Madonie town at 917 meters, hazelnut country and the birthplace of Domenico Dolce.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Polizzi Generosa is on our list
It holds Città della Nocciola.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 12 min from Palermo
- Population
- 2,795
- J9°
- F11°
- M11°
- A15°
- M20°
- J27°
- J30°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The name Polizzi is thought to derive from the Greek Polis Isis, City of Isis, and archaeological finds attest continuous settlement since at least the sixth century BC, including coins from the nearby Greek colony of Himera. The Normans rebuilt the hilltop settlement, and Frederick II later added the epithet generosa. The old town climbs the ridge in stone houses, convents and churches, with the church and its twin bell towers at the summit, while the surrounding limestone massif, now protected as part of a UNESCO Global Geopark, supplies the slopes where hazelnuts are grown and where the town's convents once produced the sfoglio still made today.
Domenico Dolce of Dolce & Gabbana was born here in 1958. Giuseppe Antonio Borgese, the novelist who refused the Fascist loyalty oath in 1931 and emigrated to the United States, came from the same town. A settlement old enough to trace its name to Greek colonists, remade by Normans and by an emperor, still produces the same hazelnuts and the same pastry its convents made centuries ago, and still sends its people beyond the mountain.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 1 h 54 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 1 h 12 min.
Coming by train into Palermo Centrale? Polizzi Generosa is about 1 h 9 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Catania airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa Madre di Polizzi Generosa
Norman foundation rebuilt in Baroque style in the seventeenth century, with twin bell towers, a clock and a grand staircase at the top of the town.
Museo Civico Archeologico
Civic museum with finds from the area's continuous settlement, including coins and amphorae linked to the Greek colony of Himera on the coast.
Parco delle Madonie
Regional natural park and UNESCO Global Geopark since 2015, covering the limestone massif that rises around the town.
Centro storico medievale
Hilltop old town of stone houses, convents and churches arranged along the ridge that crowns the Madonie slope.
From the guides
Where to stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
SusafaHotel
Susafa has one Michelin Key to its name.
Living here
Could you live here?
Polizzi Generosa is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,795. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Campofelice di Roccella, is 41 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Caltanissetta, a city of 58,182, is 41 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 2,795, down 19.4% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Caltanissetta, 41 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Petralia Sottana, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €460 to €680 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 81% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Palermo airport (PMO), 1 h 41 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 1 h 12 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
1% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Tunisia and Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 473 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 56% 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, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caltanissetta, 38 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Caltanissetta, 38 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 67 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.94% 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 0.6% 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 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 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. 11% 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
SFOGLIO
Layered cake of tuma cheese baked for centuries by the Benedictine nuns of Santa Margherita, still prepared by families on feast days.
HAZELNUTS
Madonie hazelnut country, Città della Nocciola, with groves on the surrounding slopes supplying Sicilian pastry.
DOMENICO DOLCE
The co-founder of Dolce & Gabbana was born in Polizzi Generosa in 1958, son of a local tailor.
Common questions
- What is Polizzi Generosa known for?
- Polizzi Generosa is a Madonie town at 917 meters, hazelnut country and the birthplace of Domenico Dolce.
- Where is Polizzi Generosa?
- Polizzi Generosa is a comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to Polizzi Generosa?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Palermo (PMO), about 1 h 41 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Polizzi Generosa?
- About 1 h 12 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Polizzi Generosa?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Polizzi Generosa?
- Montalbano Elicona, Buccheri and San Fele.
- How many people live in Polizzi Generosa?
- 2,795 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Polizzi Generosa a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Polizzi Generosa is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Campofelice di Roccella, is 41 min away. The nearest city, Caltanissetta, is 41 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Petralia Sottana, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 81% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 917 m
- Population: 2,795
- Surface area: 134.66 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 Polizzi Generosa 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 8 best high-altitude villages in SicilySicilyabove 800 m8 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The best mountain towns inside a nature park in SicilySicilymountaininside a park8 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
Similar
Towns like Polizzi Generosa
What all six share with Polizzi Generosa: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
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