Sicily · Catania
Randazzo
A medieval town in black lava stone at 750 meters on Etna's north foot, with three quarter churches for Latins, Greeks and Lombards.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h from Catania
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 10,038
- J10°
- F12°
- M12°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J30°
- 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
Randazzo sits at 750 meters on the northern foot of Etna, seventy kilometers northwest of Catania along the Alcantara valley. Byzantine in origin, Swabian and medieval in character, the town has three great churches that mark its three historic quarters, once inhabited by communities that spoke different tongues: the Latins in Santa Maria, the Greeks in San Nicolò, and the Lombards in San Martino. In 1210 Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and his young wife Constance of Aragon sheltered here from the plague in Palermo; Randazzo became, after Palermo and Messina, one of the most populous towns on the island.
The architecture is lava: Santa Maria Assunta, begun in the thirteenth century, has a façade entirely in black volcanic stone with three polygonal apses shaped as towers and Catalan-Gothic side portals. The forty-one-meter bell tower of San Martino, called one of the most beautiful in Sicily, has stood since the thirteenth century.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 1 h 8 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 2 h 49 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Catania Centrale? Randazzo is about 1 h away by road.
Every town within reach of Catania airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Thirteenth-century basilica in black lava stone with three polygonal apses shaped as towers and fifteenth-century Catalan-Gothic side portals.
Chiesa di San Martino
Church of Swabian origin from the thirteenth century with a forty-one-meter bell tower in four storeys, anchor of the Lombard quarter.
Chiesa di San Nicolò
Largest of the three quarter churches, repeatedly rebuilt; the fourteenth-century bell tower fell in the 1693 earthquake.
Centro storico medievale
Black-stone medieval old town along Via Umberto, with three quarter churches and palazzi of the once-trilingual community.
Etna north slope
Closest sizeable town to the volcano's summit, the trailhead for the northern ascent routes and the Etna DOC vineyards.
From the guides
Where to eat
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.
San Giorgio e il DragoTrattoria
San Giorgio e il Drago holds two Gambero Rosso prawns and a Slow Food snail.
VenezianoRistorante
Veneziano holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Randazzo meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 10,038 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Catania, a city of 298,054, is 1 h by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 10,038, down 8.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Catania, 1 h drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Bronte, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €450 to €670 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €2.40 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 94% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Catania airport (CTA), 1 h 8 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 49 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
3% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 10 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France. There are 230 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 44% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Catania province ranks 96th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Bronte, 12 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Catania, 49 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Catania, 49 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 143 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.
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. 5% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 2% 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
LAVA STONE
Churches, palazzi and walls built in black volcanic stone, the medieval town hewn from the material of the mountain beside it.
THREE QUARTERS
Once divided into Latin, Greek and Lombard quarters with separate dialects and separate churches, a triple community at the foot of Etna.
FREDERICK II
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and Constance of Aragon sheltered here in 1210 from the Palermo plague.
Common questions
- What is Randazzo known for?
- Randazzo is a medieval town in black lava stone at 750 meters on Etna's north foot, with three quarter churches for Latins, Greeks and Lombards.
- Where is Randazzo?
- Randazzo is a comune in the province of Catania, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to Randazzo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Catania (CTA), about 1 h 8 min by car.
- Can you get to Randazzo without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Randazzo?
- About 2 h 49 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Randazzo?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and September the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Randazzo?
- Nicosia, Brunico and Ariano Irpino.
- How many people live in Randazzo?
- 10,038 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Randazzo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Randazzo is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Catania, is 1 h away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Bronte, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 94% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 750 m
- Population: 10,038
- Surface area: 205.62 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 Randazzo appears in
- The 6 best towns inside a nature park that you can reach by train in SicilySicilyinside a parkby train6 towns · smallest 2,859 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train that eat well within 90 minutes of CataniaNear Cataniaby trainwithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 2,859 residents · closest 12 min away
- The best towns inside a nature park that eat well in SicilySicilyinside a parkeats well7 towns · smallest 1,799 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train in the province of CataniaCatania provinceby train7 towns · smallest 2,859 residents
- The best mountain towns inside a nature park in SicilySicilymountaininside a park8 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The best mountain towns within two hours of CataniaNear Cataniamountainwithin 2 hours10 towns · smallest 1,705 residents · closest 29 min away
Similar
Towns like Randazzo
What all six share with Randazzo: mountain-valley towns · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Nicosia
Province: Enna
both over 10,000 people
Brunico
Province: Bolzano
both over 10,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Ariano Irpino
Province: Avellino
both over 10,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Castiglione di Sicilia
Province: Catania
both have a railway station in the comune
L'Aquila
Province: L'Aquila
both over 10,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Monte Sant'Angelo
Province: Foggia
both over 10,000 people
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