Do you already know where to buy your second home in Italy?
If you are still uncertain, this ranking could help you to clear your ideas or to evaluate new options that you had previously rejected or not considered.
We are talking about the 22nd edition of Urban Ecosystem, research on environmentally friendly living, conducted by Legambiente in collaboration with the research institute “Ambiente Italia” and “Il Sole 24 Ore”.
What makes a city livable?
The survey examines 104 Italian provincial capitals with respect to 18 parameters: air quality, water management and waste management, energy, mobility and public transport, road accidents. For each parameter, each city gets a score.
Here are the results:
The medium-small cities, i.e. those with under 80 thousand inhabitants, seem to have an edge! The north of Italy seems to fair better, especially the mountain resorts, but with some exceptions:
1. VERBANIA (Piedmont):
Verbania is called “the garden on Lake Maggiore” is the most virtuous, crowned as the city with the best performance.
[Photo Credits: Irene Grassi]
2. TRENTO (Trentino-Alto Adige):
A Roman town presenting itself to visitors through its buildings which tell of a century-old history. Its Christmas markets attract thousands of people from all over Italy.
[This is a derivative image from Alessio Maffei’s photo]
3. BELLUNO (Veneto):
A gateway to the Dolomites and window on the Venetian plain. A small but precious gem set in a ring of mountains that surround everything.
[This is a derivative image from giustina_ilyusha’s photo]
4. BOLZANO (Trentino-Alto Adige):
On the border with Austria, in a sunny valley with a mild climate, Bolzano is the capital of Alto Adige – South Tyrol. City of art, entertainment, culture, and holiday, thanks to
an explosion of new infrastructure: the airport, the city theatre and the auditorium.
[This is a derivative image from Siegfried Rabanser’s photo]
5. MACERATA (Marche):
Macerata is the beating heart of Le Marche region, in central Italy. It is insidious in this ranking leaping up from last year’ 13th place. It lies among rolling hills, halfway between the sea and the mountains.
[This is a derivative image from Enrico Pighetti’s photo]
6. ORISTANO (Sardinia):
An ancient medieval town located on Sardinia’s central west coast. Together with Macerata it is an exception in this top 10 dominated by the northern cities.
[This is a derivative image from antonf’s photo]
7. SONDRIO (Lombardy):
Situated in the heart of Valtellina, Sondrio a town rich in history as well as fabulous views of the surrounding nature.
[This is a derivative image from Francesco Crippa’s photo]
8. VENICE (Veneto):
Venice is the only virtuous of the major cities and positively stands out, benefitting from the absence of car traffic, while Florence is 43rd, followed by Bologna (50), Milan (51), Bari (66), Rome (83), Turin (84) and Naples (90).
[This is a derivative image from gnuck’s photo]
9. MANTUA (Lombardy):
This is the golden year for beautiful Mantua, where the efficiency of the ‘smart city’ is fused with the humanity of the Renaissance city. It was for this that it has just been elected the Italian Cultural Capital for 2016.
[This is a derivative image from Roberto Taddeo’s photo]
10. PORDENONE (Friuli-Venezia Giulia):
A reality closely linked to its past by small buildings, frescoes, the monuments of the charming old town, but also ready to embrace the challenges of the present and the future.
[This is a derivative image from Luke McKernan’s photo]
What has changed from last year? There are improvements, particularly in the
commitment to renewable resources and waste, indicating that the welfare of our cities, and the world we live in, is dearer to our hearts, so much so, that it is becoming a point of strength and real embodiment within the Italian system.
[Featured image by alessandra elle]
