The best (and worst) places to live in Italy in 2023
A new quality of life study has ranked Italian cities from best to worst, with the gap between north and south as wide as ever.
This year, the inhabitants of the northeastern Italian city of Bolzano can say they live in the best province in Italy for quality of life - at least according to the latest survey compiled by ItaliaOggi and Rome's La Sapienza University.
Now in its 25th year, this is among the most respected of several annual quality of life surveys conducted in Italy.
READ ALSO: Why are Trento and Bolzano rated the best places to live in Italy?
Bolzano took the top spot from last year’s winner Trento, which now ranks fourth.
The northern economic powerhouse of Milan was in second place, with top five completed by the cities of Bologna and Florence.
Rome was in 33rd place, this year beaten by Turin in 31st.
Venice ranked 25th, while southern capital Naples was ninth from bottom in 99th place.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Which is the best place to live in Italy?
The rankings are based on factors including employment opportunities, standards in health and education, crime levels, income, leisure facilities, social security and environment.
Venice is the Italian city with the 25th best quality of life, according to a new study. Photo by MARCO SABADIN / AFP.
Such studies usually show a clear north-south divide, and this one is no exception: the 63 provincial capitals where the quality of life was rated 'good' or 'acceptable' were predominantly in the central and eastern Alps, the Po Valley and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, ItaliaOggi noted.
Towns and cities in the south of Italy and its two major islands, by contrast, overwhelmingly have a 'poor' or 'insufficient' quality of life.
"The 2023 survey confirms a trend: the fracture between the centre-north, more performing and resilient, and southern and island Italy, characterised by persistent vulnerability," the publication concludes.
READ ALSO: 'If you want quality of life, choose Italy’s sunny south over the efficient north'
The findings also show that major cities in the centre-north have seen a strong post-pandemic recovery in the past year; as demonstrated by Rome's jump from 53rd to 33rd place, and Turin's from 54th to 31st.
While the study does not rank smaller towns and rural areas, it is seen as representative partly as most public services, including local government offices and larger hospitals and healthcare facilities, are generally located in the provincial capital.
Here’s the survey’s complete ranking of all 107 provincial capitals in Italy, from best to worst according to its criteria:
1. Bolzano
2. Milan
3. Bologna
4. Trento
5. Florence
6. Padua
7. Parma
8. Monza and Brianza
9. Aosta
10. Pordenone
11. Siena
12. Brescia
13. Modena
14. Reggio Emilia
15. Forlì-Cesena
16. Verona
17. Vicenza
18. Treviso
19. Udine
20. Mantua
21. Rimini
22. Belluno
23. Bergamo
24. Ravenna
25. Venice
26. Cuneo
27. Lecco
28. Ancona
29. Prato
30. Trieste
31. Turin
32. Sondrio
33. Rome
34. Varese
35. Como
36. Cremona
37. Pesaro and Urbino
38. Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
39. Lodi
40. Ascoli Piceno
41. Macerata
42. Gorizia
43. Savona
44. Biella
45. Pisa
46. Piacenza
47. Novara
48. Ferrara
49. Arezzo
50. Fermo
51. Lucca
52. Perugia
53. Livorno
54. Pistoia
55. Pavia
56. Grosseto
57. Genoa
58. Terni
59. Vercelli
60. Asti
61. Teramo
62. Massa-Carrara
63. La Spezia
64. Rovigo
65. Isernia
66. Pescara
67. L’Aquila
68. Alessandria
69. Imperia
70. Viterbo
71. Potenza
72. Matera
73. Cagliari
74. Chieti
75. Frosinone
76. Benevento
77. Sassari
78. Nuoro
79. Campobasso
80. Rieti
81. Latina
82. Bari
83. Avellino
84. Lecce
85. Barletta-Andria-Trani
86. Salerno
87. Catanzaro
88. Ragusa
89. South Sardinia
90. Brindisi
91. Oristano
92. Vibo Valentia
93. Trapani
94. Caserta
95. Reggio Calabria
96. Foggia
97. Cosenza
98. Palermo
99. Naples
100. Enna
101. Taranto
102. Syracuse
103. Catania
104. Agrigento
105. Messina
106. Caltanissetta
107. Crotone
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This year, the inhabitants of the northeastern Italian city of Bolzano can say they live in the best province in Italy for quality of life - at least according to the latest survey compiled by ItaliaOggi and Rome's La Sapienza University.
Now in its 25th year, this is among the most respected of several annual quality of life surveys conducted in Italy.
READ ALSO: Why are Trento and Bolzano rated the best places to live in Italy?
Bolzano took the top spot from last year’s winner Trento, which now ranks fourth.
The northern economic powerhouse of Milan was in second place, with top five completed by the cities of Bologna and Florence.
Rome was in 33rd place, this year beaten by Turin in 31st.
Venice ranked 25th, while southern capital Naples was ninth from bottom in 99th place.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Which is the best place to live in Italy?
The rankings are based on factors including employment opportunities, standards in health and education, crime levels, income, leisure facilities, social security and environment.
Such studies usually show a clear north-south divide, and this one is no exception: the 63 provincial capitals where the quality of life was rated 'good' or 'acceptable' were predominantly in the central and eastern Alps, the Po Valley and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, ItaliaOggi noted.
Towns and cities in the south of Italy and its two major islands, by contrast, overwhelmingly have a 'poor' or 'insufficient' quality of life.
"The 2023 survey confirms a trend: the fracture between the centre-north, more performing and resilient, and southern and island Italy, characterised by persistent vulnerability," the publication concludes.
READ ALSO: 'If you want quality of life, choose Italy’s sunny south over the efficient north'
The findings also show that major cities in the centre-north have seen a strong post-pandemic recovery in the past year; as demonstrated by Rome's jump from 53rd to 33rd place, and Turin's from 54th to 31st.
While the study does not rank smaller towns and rural areas, it is seen as representative partly as most public services, including local government offices and larger hospitals and healthcare facilities, are generally located in the provincial capital.
Here’s the survey’s complete ranking of all 107 provincial capitals in Italy, from best to worst according to its criteria:
1. Bolzano
2. Milan
3. Bologna
4. Trento
5. Florence
6. Padua
7. Parma
8. Monza and Brianza
9. Aosta
10. Pordenone
11. Siena
12. Brescia
13. Modena
14. Reggio Emilia
15. Forlì-Cesena
16. Verona
17. Vicenza
18. Treviso
19. Udine
20. Mantua
21. Rimini
22. Belluno
23. Bergamo
24. Ravenna
25. Venice
26. Cuneo
27. Lecco
28. Ancona
29. Prato
30. Trieste
31. Turin
32. Sondrio
33. Rome
34. Varese
35. Como
36. Cremona
37. Pesaro and Urbino
38. Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
39. Lodi
40. Ascoli Piceno
41. Macerata
42. Gorizia
43. Savona
44. Biella
45. Pisa
46. Piacenza
47. Novara
48. Ferrara
49. Arezzo
50. Fermo
51. Lucca
52. Perugia
53. Livorno
54. Pistoia
55. Pavia
56. Grosseto
57. Genoa
58. Terni
59. Vercelli
60. Asti
61. Teramo
62. Massa-Carrara
63. La Spezia
64. Rovigo
65. Isernia
66. Pescara
67. L’Aquila
68. Alessandria
69. Imperia
70. Viterbo
71. Potenza
72. Matera
73. Cagliari
74. Chieti
75. Frosinone
76. Benevento
77. Sassari
78. Nuoro
79. Campobasso
80. Rieti
81. Latina
82. Bari
83. Avellino
84. Lecce
85. Barletta-Andria-Trani
86. Salerno
87. Catanzaro
88. Ragusa
89. South Sardinia
90. Brindisi
91. Oristano
92. Vibo Valentia
93. Trapani
94. Caserta
95. Reggio Calabria
96. Foggia
97. Cosenza
98. Palermo
99. Naples
100. Enna
101. Taranto
102. Syracuse
103. Catania
104. Agrigento
105. Messina
106. Caltanissetta
107. Crotone
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