Florence was named the best Italian province to raise children in financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life survey by age group, presented on Sunday.
In the same survey, Bolzano was rated the best city for young adults with Trieste leading the rankings for over-65s,
Florence mayor Sara Funaro said the ranking was a “wonderful piece of news,” noting that it came the same weekend as the city held its Firenze dei Bambini (children’s festival) with free entry and activities at museums and public spaces.
"Investing in childhood, culture, schools and community spaces means building a better city for everyone, she said.
The ranking was based on 20 metrics covering health, education, services and family life.
They included the availability of nursery places for children aged 0-3, as well as the number of paediatricians and paediatric nurses, average monthly school fees, the share of schools with a gym, average household living space, and how well 13-year-olds scored on standardised maths and reading tests.
The Tuscan capital placed in the top ten on eight of the 20 measures, with its strongest result on social spending for families, behind Trieste.
In April, the city council announced a €30 million overhaul of parks and green spaces across all five city districts, including new playgrounds and sports facilities at the Giardini del Saletto, Giardini Morandi and Piazza Nannotti.
The city also emphasises a programme of events for families year-round, including children's programmes at civic museums run by the MUS.E foundation.
Tuscany more broadly is also one of only two Italian regions that offer to fully fund early years childcare in addition to the national bonus nido payment.
Milan came second in the children's ranking and Aosta third, with Milan also placing third for the elderly.
Siena, another Tuscan city, came fifth in the ranking, while Cagliari, Sardinia, was the only province from the south and islands represented in the top ten.
Top ten best Italian provinces for children
1st Florence
2nd Milan
3rd Aosta
4th Trieste
5th Siena
6th Monza and Brianza
7th Cagliari
8th Genoa
9th Ancona
10th Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Southern provinces filled 18 of the last 20 places for both children and young people, with Trapani, Taranto and Vibo Valentia bottom of all three rankings.
The findings followed a similar trend to those of a report by Save the Children published earlier this month, which scored the regions in Italy where it's easiest to be a mother based on childcare availability, maternal employment rates, health services and other measures.
Emilia-Romagna came top in that study, Tuscany fourth, and Sicily, Puglia and Basilicata last.
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