Bolzano takes first place in ItaliaOggi's survey on quality of life in Italian cities. Il Sole24Ore's survey instead crowns Belluno: life is better, it seems, in smaller cities, and above all in those along the Alpine arc.
To live better, one must head to the mountains — that is what emerges from the two rankings published in recent days by ItaliaOggi and Sole24Ore. According to the first, Bolzano is the 2017 queen — no longer Mantua, which was chosen last year — that is to say, the city recording the best quality of life, while the survey carried out by Sole24Ore crowns Belluno. It may seem curious that two rankings on the same topic yield different results, but it is easily explained. ItaliaOggi and Sole24Ore used different parameters to compile their surveys, yet both found that life in the mountains and in small towns is better relative to the rest of the country.
Bolzano is the winner of the title of province with the best quality of life, after nine indicators selected by ItaliaOggi were considered; the study was then entrusted to the Department of Economic Statistics at the Università La Sapienza in Rome, with the support of Cattolica Assicurazioni. Here are all the parameters: business and employment, environment, crime, social and personal hardship, population, financial and educational services, the health system, leisure, and standard of living.
The notable news is Rome's climb to 67th place, recovering 21 positions; the bottom of the ranking, meanwhile, is occupied by Trapani. Many have pointed out that the sharp divide between an advanced North and a perpetually struggling South has softened. Today it is increasingly common for small provinces — whether in the south or the north — to stand out for their dynamism and capacity to evolve, while large metropolitan areas are increasingly static and unable to guarantee acceptable living conditions for their residents.
Bolzano thus comes out on top, and has in fact led this ranking on three other occasions, very often accompanied by other cities from the north-east. Among the southern regions deserving of recognition, Matera is worth mentioning: it claims 51st place, carrying it optimistically towards 2019 as European Capital of Culture.
Read also: Da vergogna dell'Italia, ecco perché Matera diventa capitale della cultura europea
Italy's most well-known financial daily instead conducted its survey by measuring wealth and consumption, employment, environment and services, demographics, justice and safety, culture, and — new this year — additional parameters such as online purchases, the gender pay gap, spending on medicines, land consumption, years of education among the over-25s, and a litigiousness index for the courts. In the new 2017 ranking, which sees the Veneto province of Belluno top of the class, there are a few surprises, but above all a confirmation for mountain locations: Aosta, Sondrio, Bolzano, Trento, Trieste and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola all feature among the top positions. The major cities — Genoa, Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence and Rome — lose ground; only Naples and Palermo improve. Bringing up the rear is Caserta.
On the Sole24Ore website, it is well worth consulting the interactive map of our country produced on the basis of this survey: it is in fact possible to determine which would be our ideal city depending on the indicators we consider most important. A "game" that allows us to understand how close to or far from our city our desires lie — or perhaps to choose the most suitable place for us to live.