What do Mick Jagger, Mick Hucknall, Philip Rizzo, René Rossignaud, Mark Attard and several hundred other Maltese nationals have in common? They all own property in Sicily.

But why go through the hassle of buying real estate on another Mediterranean island located just 93 kilometres away?

Except for the two British performers, many share the desire to “escape the madness of Malta”, citing issues such as traffic and overpopulation.

“Privacy and quiet is what Maltese buyers want when looking for property here,” says Simona Scartano of Noto-based estate agency Home Sud Home. “And we get plenty of enquiries from Malta”.

Scartano confirms that most Maltese looking for a property want it “con terreno” (with land) and reasonably close to the ferry port of Pozzallo.

However, “higher-spending professionals” look farther afield and closer to commercial hubs like Syracuse, Catania and the bigger towns in western Sicily.

The other major attraction is the relatively low property prices, encouraging people interested in investing in property to cast their eyes across the Malta channel, when once they would have looked closer to home.

In the 1980s, Gozo’s construction boom encouraged many Maltese wanting a holiday home to look at the sister island.

“I bought a five-room house in Gozo 35 years ago for LM2,000 [€4,650],” says retiree Mark Attard. Today the house is valued at between €300,000 and €400,000.

Prices have also risen in Sicily, but the impact is different.

“A little house that could have been bought for between €10,000 and €50,000 a few years ago is now going for around €100,000,” says Attard. Although still habitable, you will need another €100,000 or €150,000 to do it up, he adds.

“So, for about €250,000 – instead of a small flat in Malta or Gozo – you’ll have a lovely villa in Sicily with land, views and practically no neighbours.”

These are typical costs for properties in the most popular area for Maltese buyers, south-eastern Sicily.

According to retired auditor Philip Rizzo, costs are higher further north along Sicily’s eastern coast and in the hilly Mount Etna region. These average between €2,500 and €3,000 per square metre as opposed to an average of between €1,800 and €2,000 in the south.

‘Hard work – but therapeutic’

When photographer René Rossignaud bought 7,000 square metres of land on the outskirts of Ispica in 2021, the house that came with it was livable but needed plastering, new roof tiles, a new bathroom and, of course, furniture.

Last year, he bought a 22,000-square-metre plot, adjacent to his first property, with two abandoned houses. These, says Rossignaud, need everything – they have no roofs, water, electricity or drainage.

Rossignaud, along with his wife and children, renovated the original house, where they live on their weekly trips to Sicily. They are now restoring the abandoned dwellings.

“It’s hard work, but it’s also therapeutic and I need that,” he says.

Mark and Barbara Attard bought “a little house” on a 4,000-square-metre plot in Frigintini, in the Ragusa area, some eight years ago and completed all the renovation work themselves, “from top to bottom”.

What’s more, the Attards live ‘off grid’, meaning all their electricity is provided by solar panels.

Two hours drive from Frigintini, just north of Catania and on the slopes of Mount Etna is Trecastagni, where Rizzo and his family live. Unlike the Attards, the Rizzos are plugged into the Sicilian electricity grid to the tune of some €4,000 a year – to light and heat their six-bedroom house and swimming pool.

Cheaper cost of living – but high unemployment

The cheaper cost of living in Sicily is another reason more Maltese people are choosing to buy a second home on the Italian island.

“One can live reasonably comfortably on a monthly budget of around €1,800, especially if one opts for fresh local produce,” explains Rizzo. But energy costs have soared considerably in the last two years.

Moreover, the price of fuel is substantially higher compared to Malta and a car is a necessity for those considering buying a property in the countryside.

However, those who may find it difficult to live on €2,000 a month in Malta will not solve their problems by taking a ferry to Sicily and taking up residence there, warns Rizzo.

Which is probably why most Maltese who own property in Sicily do not live there permanently.

“I would say 95 per cent are part-timers, because they’re young and have to work, or they’re parents or grandparents who want to see their children,” explains Attard.

Rossignaud, for instance, commutes regularly between Ispica and Malta. “I come and go constantly. Sometimes I commute once a week, sometimes it’s four times a week. I try to pack all the work in two or three days that I’m in Malta,” he explains. His wife, a pharmacist, travels at weekends, as do his school-age children.

One of the disadvantages of living in Sicily, explains Attard, is that there is no work available.

“I’m a pensioner, so that doesn’t worry me, but it is a problem for younger people.”

Rizzo adds: “It’s not easy to find a job in Sicily as it has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. One must have a guaranteed regular source of income from outside Sicily before considering such a move.”

Working remotely, says Attard, is the one alternative that could make relocating permanently to Sicily workable.

The Airbnb route

Another option, if space is available, is to go into the bed-and-breakfast business. This is what Rizzo did. He bought his 20,000-square-metre estate in 2016, which had an extensive orchard and a dilapidated country house, and which was professionally renovated in nine months. By July 2017, the family moved in and it was replete with all modern comforts, including a heated swimming pool.

“For the first years, until we began to feel the financial pinch of the considerable running costs of an orchard of some 600 trees, we only hosted family and close friends,” he explains.

Consequently, four of the six bedrooms were set aside for rental, and Cirasa Luxury Country House is now an upscale B&B.

The B&B or Airbnb route has been taken on by several who own property in Sicily. In some cases, it was done to offset the renovation costs of their second homes or to supplement pensions.

In contrast to Rossignaud, Attard, Rizzo and many other retirees do not commute as frequently. Most travel to Malta once a month or so, for family gatherings, Christmas, to get a car VRT, and for medical purposes.

“The poor quality of the public health care system in Sicily is without doubt worrying to both the local population and, more so, to foreign nationals who spend considerable lengths of time there,” explains Rizzo.

“Waiting times for non-emergency surgery and even for periodic check-ups are atrocious, and the quality of in-hospital care is far below what one will have become accustomed to in Malta over the past 25 years or so.”

The solution, Rizzo suggests, is to obtain overseas private healthcare insurance in Malta, but this becomes prohibitively more expensive as one gets older.

Selecting to live reasonably close to a ferry port, Pozzallo for the time being, or airport to enable quick travel back to Malta, in case of ill health, is an inadequate option. This might not be a pleasant way to live a quiet, serene retirement.

Ultimately, purchasing property in Sicily – or wherever else and for whatever reason – should never be done hastily.

Inevitably, the day will come when these real estate owners will miss the ferry for the last time.

A 70-year-old Maltese man who preferred to remain unnamed said: “I bought my Sicily property to get away from Malta and to relax there, not as an investment. I may have another 20 or so years of retirement. But it’s something tangible I’ll leave my children.”