# The Madonie in numbers: area, peaks, population and sources > The Madonie in numbers: park area, peaks, population of the 16 towns, plants, tourism, snow, trails and events. Every figure with its source and date. - Page: https://www.lemadonie.it/en/madonie-in-numbers/ - Updated: 2026-10-20 - Other languages: [Italiano](https://www.lemadonie.it/madonie-in-numeri.md) · [Español](https://www.lemadonie.it/es/madonie-en-cifras.md) · [Français](https://www.lemadonie.it/fr/madonie-en-chiffres.md) · [Deutsch](https://www.lemadonie.it/de/madonie-in-zahlen.md) ## How we collect these numbers We read every value written by hand on this page on its primary source, on the date shown in the list of sources: documents of the Madonie park authority, ISTAT files, data from the Sicilian Region, CAI pages and Slow Food Foundation pages. When two sources disagree, we give both and say so in the note. Some tables we do not write ourselves. Trails, events, places to stay and eat, driving distances and, when available, climate averages are calculated from the site's data every time it is published, so they stay up to date on their own. Three caveats. The town altitudes are ISTAT's, measured on a digital elevation model: they can differ by a few dozen metres from the ones on our village pages, taken from the municipalities or Wikipedia. The vegetation figures come from a scientific map of 2004, the latest complete one we found. The 2025 tourism data also count private rentals run without a business and cannot be compared with earlier years. The full method, with the sources we use and the ones we avoid, is on the [how we work](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/how-we-work/) page. If you find a wrong or more recent figure, [let us know](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/report/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What are the key numbers of the Madonie? The Madonie Park covers 39,679 hectares according to the park authority, includes 15 municipalities and was created on 9 November 1989. Its highest summit is Pizzo Carbonara, 1,979 metres, second in Sicily after Etna. The 16 Madonie towns, Gangi included, had 54,680 residents on 1 January 2025 according to ISTAT. About 1,500 plant species and subspecies grow in the park, 170 of them endemic. ### How many people live in the Madonie towns? On 1 January 2025 the 16 towns had 54,680 residents according to ISTAT, and the estimate for 1 January 2026 falls to 54,229. The largest is Cefalù with 13,874 residents, followed by Castelbuono with 7,926 and Gangi with 6,006. The smallest is Sclafani Bagni, with 364 residents. Only Gratteri and Isnello grow in the 2026 estimate. ### Which is the highest and which the largest town in the Madonie? According to ISTAT altitude data the highest town centre is Petralia Soprana, at 1,137 metres, followed by Geraci Siculo and San Mauro Castelverde, both above 1,000. The largest municipality is Petralia Sottana, with 178 km² reaching up to Piano Battaglia and the Carbonara peaks. The smallest by area is Scillato, with less than 32 km². ### How many peaks in the Madonie are higher than 1,800 metres? Eight peaks rise above 1,800 metres: Pizzo Carbonara (1,979 m), Pizzo Antenna Grande (1,977), Pizzo Palermo (1,964), Monte San Salvatore (1,912), Monte Ferro (1,906), Pizzo Scalonazzo (1,904), Monte Quacella (1,869) and Monte Mufara (1,865). The Sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Alto also stands above 1,800 metres, at 1,827 metres according to the CAI. The heights come from the park authority and Wikipedia. ### How many tourists visit the Madonie every year? In 2025 the Sicilian Region counted 411,170 arrivals and 1,343,798 nights in the accommodation of the 13 towns with published data. Cefalù alone accounts for 85% of the nights; Pollina and Castelbuono come next. The 16 towns have 18,731 registered beds in 2,009 businesses. Since 2025 the count also includes private short lets, so it cannot be compared with earlier years. ### How many Abies nebrodensis trees are left? About 30 adult Abies nebrodensis trees survive in the wild, according to the CNR and the Madonie park authority, all in the municipality of Polizzi Generosa, in and around the Vallone Madonna degli Angeli. It is one of the rarest conifers in the world. The LIFE4FIR project, led by the CNR, worked to increase its genetic diversity and plant new trees. ### How far is Palermo from the Madonie by car? From central Palermo to Cefalù it is about 72 km and just over an hour by car. Petralia Sottana is about 105 km away, Gangi about 117 km and an hour and three quarters. From Palermo airport to Cefalù it is about 108 km. The figures are calculated with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data and ignore traffic and roadworks. ## Sources - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, Piano integrato di attività e organizzazione (PIAO) 2026: territorio, zone e quote](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PIAO-2026-definitivo-00000003.pdf) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Parks.it (Federparchi), scheda del Parco Regionale delle Madonie](https://www.parks.it/parco.madonie/par.php) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, L'ambiente naturale (quote delle vette)](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/lambiente-naturale/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [UNESCO, Madonie UNESCO Global Geopark (scheda del programma IGGP)](https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/madonie-unesco-global-geopark) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, Carta dei geositi 2026](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/CARTA-GEOSITI-2026.pdf) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Wikipedia, Madonie (elenco delle cime)](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonie) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [ISTAT, Popolazione residente per età e sesso al 1° gennaio 2025, comuni (demo.istat.it)](https://demo.istat.it/data/posas/POSAS_2025_it_Comuni.zip) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [ISTAT, Popolazione residente al 1° gennaio 2026, stima, comuni (demo.istat.it)](https://demo.istat.it/data/posas/POSAS_2026_it_Comuni.zip) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [ISTAT, Altimetria dei comuni al 31 dicembre 2021 (superficie, quote del centro, medie e massime)](https://www.istat.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Altimetria_Comuni-al-31_12_2021.xlsx) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Regione Siciliana, Osservatorio turistico: movimento turistico e capacità ricettiva per comune, 2025 (dati ISTAT)](https://www.regione.sicilia.it/la-regione/istituzioni/strutture-regionali/assessorato-regionale-turismo-sport-spettacolo/dipartimento-turismo-sport-spettacolo/aree-tematiche/attivita-staff/osservatorio-turistico/osservatorio-turistico-della-regione-sicilia/movimenti-turistici-comunali) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Raimondo, Schicchi e Surano, Carta del paesaggio e della biodiversità vegetale del Parco delle Madonie, Naturalista siciliano XXVIII (2004)](https://www.sssn.it/PDF/PDF%20Nat.%20Sic%201%202004/Raimondo-Schicchi...pdf) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [CNR, progetto LIFE4FIR per l'Abies nebrodensis](https://www.cnr.it/it/progetti-di-ricerca/progetto/35448) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, Abies nebrodensis](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/abies-nebrodensis/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, Progetto per la reintroduzione del grifone (ottobre 2026)](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/progetto-per-la-reintroduzione-del-grifone-gyps-fulvus/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, Trekking (rete dei sentieri del Parco)](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/trekking/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [CAI, Sentiero Italia: schede delle tappe SI V14-V18 (distanza e dislivello)](https://sentieroitalia.cai.it/track/si-v15/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - Città Metropolitana di Palermo, relazione illustrativa del bando di concessione degli impianti di Piano Battaglia (2026) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [PalermoToday, Piano Battaglia: bando deserto, gestione prorogata (5 ottobre 2026)](https://www.palermotoday.it/cronaca/piano-battaglia-gestione-privati-bando-deserto.html) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Fondazione Slow Food, Presidio Manna delle Madonie](https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/presidi-slow-food/manna-delle-madonie/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Fondazione Slow Food, Presidio Provola delle Madonie](https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/presidi-slow-food/provola-delle-madonie/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Fondazione Slow Food, Presidio Fagiolo badda di Polizzi](https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/presidi-slow-food/fagiolo-badda-di-polizzi/) (checked on 2026-10-20) - [Fondazione Slow Food, Presidio Albicocca di Scillato](https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/presidi-slow-food/albicocca-di-scillato/) (checked on 2026-10-20) --- Markdown version of the page https://www.lemadonie.it/en/madonie-in-numbers/, from Le Madonie (lemadonie.it), an independent guide to the Madonie. Facts with source and date of check.