Like every year, the Italian newspaper “Sole 24 Ore” has drawn up the ranking of the Italian provinces with the best quality of life, analyzing 90 statistical indicators divided into six categories: “wealth and expenditure”, “business and work”, “justice and safety”, “demography and society”, “environments and services”, “culture and free time”. For the very first time, to get the highest step of the podium in the 34th edition of the survey the province of Udine, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, which thus enters the history of the ranking that measures the well-being of the Italian population after having placed in the top ten only three times from 1990 to today (2016, 2020 and 2021).
The climb of the Friulian territory (+11 positions compared to 2022) among the 107 Italian provinces is driven by some particular performances: it obtains first place for the “quality of women’s life” and eighth place in what measures the “quality of life of children”; it holds the record of gyms, swimming pools, and physical well-being centers; it stands out with a fourth place in the “justice and safety” category for the limited frequency of fires, IT crimes and theft of cars; it also excels for the low incidence of families with ISEE (an indicator that takes into account the income, assets, and characteristics of a family unit) under 7,000 euros and companies in bankruptcy.
On the other hand, the second place of Bologna, winner of the 2022 edition and always leading the category “demography and society” thanks to high levels of education, and the third place of Trento are more like confirmations. Bergamo, this year the capital of culture together with Brescia, rises to 5th place in the ranking of the most livable provinces and conquers the primacy in the “environments and services” ranking. Modena, seventh, also returns to a top ten that had reached only twice.
They are confirmed in the top ten Milan, which is stable compared to last year and remains first in the “business and work” category, and Florence, which after having occupied the podium in 2022 this year is only sixth. The territory of the Tuscan capital loses three positions, weighed down by the data relating to the complaints of theft with tear and robberies in the public street, by the lease fees that erode up to 84% of the average income declared by families, and by some new parameters such as the consumption of drugs against obesity. Among the top ten in the standings also Monza and Brianza, which earns 14 positions and the primacy in the “wealth and expenditure” category thanks to good results in the average spending of families for the purchase of durable goods and real estate data. To close the top 10 is Verona.
Again, this edition of the provinces of Italy where you live better photographs a concentration of Southern Italy in the lower part of the ranking, with the only exception of Cagliari, in Sardinia, which is in 23rd place. The last 10 in the standings are in fact Caserta, Trapani, Brindisi, Reggio Calabria, Cosenza, Crotone, Syracuse, Naples, Caltanissetta, and Foggia 107th. Among the last five classified Syracuse (104th, -14 positions) and Naples (105th, -7 positions): the first penalized above all by the high number of companies in bankruptcy, by the gender pay gap, and the laughable number of regular domestic workers; the second one, on the other hand, is penalized by the housing density, by the predatory crime in recovery, by poor employment data and by an unfavorable migratory balance.
Finally, the other large metropolitan areas, are unable to restart after the pressure generated by economic emergencies and shocks of the last few years: Rome is 35th (-4 positions), Turin 36th, and Genoa 47th in drop of 20 positions.
