The Urban Ecosystem 2025 report, created by Legambiente with Ambiente Italia e Il Sole 24 Orephotographs the environmental performances of the 106 Italian capitals in 2024. The overall average stands at 54.24%, down compared to 56.41% two years ago, confirming an unsatisfactory growth of Italian cities towards sustainability.
The cities in the lead: Trento, Mantua and Bergamo
Trento (79.78%) and Mantua (78.74%) are confirmed at the top of the ranking, the only cities to exceed the 75% threshold. Trento takes first place thanks to a combination of effective management of the water network, sustainable mobility and consolidated environmental policies such as virtuous waste management with 443 kg/inhabitant per year and separate waste collection of over 80%. The use of renewable energy is also among the best, with 15.42 kW per 1000 inhabitants. However, a significant sore point persists: water losses are close to 30%, an increase compared to the last edition, which highlights how even the most virtuous urban models have to deal with dated water infrastructures and historical inefficiencies.
Mantua, second, climbs five positions compared to the previous year, with significant results in separate waste collection (84%) and reduction in water losses and consumption, dropping to 130 liters per capita per day and with network losses limited to 16.3%, among the lowest in Italy. Mantua also excels in the management of public space: 90.1 m2 of pedestrian surface per 100 inhabitants, excellent restricted traffic zones and consolidated cycle infrastructures. However, the problem of air quality remains, a theme common to many cities in the Po Valley, and the production of waste which increases to 541 kg/inhabitant, indicating how some environmental critical issues are more resistant to virtuous urban policies.
In third place we find Bergamo, which has rapidly climbed the ranking thanks to constant progress in separate waste collection (now at 77.2%) and in green and cycling infrastructure. However, it continues to suffer from high water consumption (171 liters per capita) and significant losses, as well as sub-optimal air quality, especially ozone. The top ten also includes Bolzano, Pordenone, Reggio Emilia, Parma, Rimini, Bologna, Forlì, all Northern cities with notable progress.
| Position | City | Score (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent | 79.78 |
| 2 | Mantua | 78.74 |
| 3 | Bergamo | 71.82 |
| 4 | Bolzano | 71.54 |
| 5 | Pordenone | 71.43 |
| 6 | Reggio Emilia | 70.74 |
| 7 | Parma | 69.97 |
| 8 | Rimini | 69.69 |
| 9 | Bologna | 69.59 |
| 10 | Forlì | 69.32 |
The black jersey of the ranking: the cities of the South
In the South, unfortunately, the situation remains critical with the lower part of the ranking occupied almost exclusively by southern cities, with Crotone, Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria in the last positions which do not exceed 25 points out of 100. Here the most evident structural difficulties are concentrated: old or poorly maintained infrastructures, inefficient public transport (Crotone with just 2 trips per capita per year) and extremely high percentages of water losses. high, up to 60-66% of the water released into the network, among the worst in Italy. Separate waste collection remains modest and urban greenery limited. These data confirm the persistent gap between North and South in responding to environmental challenges and in the management of water and urban resources. Only Cosenza (16th place) manages to enter the top 20.
| Position | City | Score (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 106 | Reggio Calabria | 9.33pm |
| 105 | Vibo Valentia | 22.95 |
| 104 | Crotone | 11.11pm |
| 103 | Naples | 30.48 |
| 102 | Catanzaro | 32.11 |
| 101 | Palermo | 32.88 |
| 100 | Catania | 34.51 |
| 99 | Stopped | 34.79 |
| 98 | Caserta | 36.20 |
| 97 | Caltanissetta | 38.47 |
The big cities
Analyzing large cities, a mixed picture emerges. Bologna confirms itself as a virtuous example among large centres, with good performances on land, waste separation and public transport. Florence shows significant growth, moving from 63rd to 21st place thanks to improvements in air pollutants, public transport and soil management. Turin, while improving, still struggles with air quality and the number of cars in circulation. In many other cities, such as Naples, Rome, Palermo and Catania, historical problems remain: high water network losses, growing land consumption, poor cycling and insufficient separate waste collection.
Land consumption and urban mobility
On the bad news front, land consumption in Italian capitals continues to grow: between 2018 and 2023, around 4,500 hectares were waterproofed, despite a decline of 346,000 inhabitants. On average, each citizen sees their waterproofed soil increase by 6.3 m2 (+3.5% compared to 2018), with significant differences from city to city.
On the urban mobility front, local public transport is recording positive signs even if general performance is far from European levels. Milan, for example, grows from 415 to 424 passengers per capita per year, while Rome goes from 259 to 277. Venice remains the best performing city, although with a slight decline, and Florence rises to 247 passengers/inhabitant per year, demonstrating progress in sustainable mobility planning.
Separate waste collection and other positive signals
For the first time, separate waste collection among the capitals exceeds the legal target of 65% set in 2012 (reaching four points higher than in 2021), with 15 cities exceeding 80%. Unfortunately, however, four cities have not yet reached even the 35% threshold set in 2006. These data show how some administrations are consolidating virtuous practices, despite the fact that there remains room for improvement in terms of ecological transition and adaptation to climate change.
Water losses
Drinking water management, however, still represents a critical challenge for many cities. In fact, water losses along distribution networks are not a marginal phenomenon: in some urban areas, up to a third or more of the water introduced into the network does not reach citizens’ taps. These are alarming numbers, if you consider that the country already consumes on average between 220 and 240 liters per capita per day, and that in the main cities it reaches 147 liters per inhabitant per day.
The causes are clear: old infrastructure, often installed more than 30 years ago and, in large urban centres, even more than 70% of the network dates back to that era. If we look at the data, some cities demonstrate higher levels of efficiency and maintenance. Municipalities such as Pavia, Monza, Milan, Livorno, Lecce, Piacenza and Macerata record losses of less than 15%, a figure considered physiological and sustainable. On the contrary, centers such as Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice, Bologna and Reggio Calabria are in the critical range, with losses exceeding 25%. This means that in these cities a significant part of the public water supplied to the network never reaches users, creating a paradox: cities rich in resources but incapable of distributing them effectively.
The phenomenon is not uniform and also reflects historical and management differences between northern and southern Italy, between large cities and smaller centres. It is clear that the adaptation of water networks must become a national priority, not a problem delegated to individual municipalities. Targeted maintenance, modernization and constant monitoring interventions are essential to reduce waste and ensure equitable distribution of water, a fundamental resource especially in a context of growing climate crisis.
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