The 33rd edition of the Sole 24 Ore quality of life survey, which highlights the best places to live in Italy, certifies Bologna's leadership, followed on the podium by Bolzano and Florence. It is the fifth time in 33 years that the Emilian province comes first in the quality of life of its inhabitants, improving by 5 positions compared to last year. This year's quality of life ranking in Italy gives ample space to the repercussions on the territory of the great shocks of 2022, including the war in Ukraine, high energy prices and inflation.
The ranking of the best places to live in Italy 2023
Analysing some results of Italy's quality of life ranking on a regional level, Emilia-Romagna shows good positioning: next to Bologna's supremacy, as the results see Parma in 9th place and Reggio Emilia in 13th.
The provinces of Trentino Alto Adige remain firmly in the top 10, with Bolzano in 2nd place and Trento in 5th. In Tuscany there are three places at the top of the ranking: in addition to Florence, there are new entries in the form of Siena, which comes in 4th place (+11 positions), and Pisa (+12 positions) in 10th place.
Milan and Rome fall in the ranking
Among the metropolitan cities in Italy, Milan - which was in second place in 2021 - remains in the top ten but drops to 8th place, while Rome slips to 31st (-18 places); Cagliari rises two places (18th place), Genoa is in 27th place (losing only one position) and Turin is in 40th (-12 places). At the bottom are Naples (98th place, down eight positions) and Palermo (88th place, up seven positions).
The 90 statistical indicators on which the survey is based, 40 of which have been updated for the 2022 edition of the Italy quality of life ranking, present a series of new features: two indicators on inflation; a package of indicators on energy from renewable sources/energy consumption; the index of electoral participation in the last general elections in September 2022; nine synthetic indices included in the survey that aggregate several parameters (Quality of life of young people, children and the elderly, Quality of life of women, Urban ecosystem, Crime index, Sportsmanship index, Climate index, IcityRank on digital cities).
How quality of life is measured in Italy
Some of the survey's historical indicators have been confirmed: added value per capita; house prices and incidence of rents on the average declared income; youth entrepreneurship; accidents at work; air quality index; motorisation rate; litigation index in the courts; mortality rate from road accidents; number of bars, restaurants, bookshops and gyms; agri-tourism sites; reading index; urban green; ultra-fast broadband; municipal administrators under 40 and more.
As regards the 6 categories into which the 90 indicators are divided, the podium for each category was as follows:
- Wealth and consumer affairs: Belluno, Bologna and Bolzano;
- Business and employment: Milan, Trieste and Rome
- Demography, health and society: Bologna, Modena and Rome
- Environment and services: Pisa, Siena and Aosta
- Justice and security: Oristano, Pordenone and Sondri
- Culture and leisure: Florence, Trieste and Gorizia
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