Soil, a living and non-renewable resource, is fragmenting under the weight of concrete, infrastructure and new industrial logics. In fact, the Italian territory is still changing: in 2024 almost 84 square kilometers were covered by new artificial surfaces, with an increase of 16% compared to the previous year.
With over 78 square km of net land consumption, this is the highest value in the last decade. This is what emerges from the Report “Land consumption, territorial dynamics and ecosystem services” 2025 edition of ISPRA and the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA), which launch a clear alarm: every hour 10,000 square meters are removed from the natural landscape, as if one piece after another were detached from the mosaic of our territory.
Behind these numbers hide canceled ecosystems, agricultural fields transformed into car parks, warehouses or logistics centers, and an increasingly impermeable, fragile and vulnerable territory.
The regions most affected by land consumption
Fifteen Italian regions have now exceeded the threshold of 5% of territory consumed.
The black shirts are:
The greatest growth in the last year was recorded in:
Emilia-Romagna leads the ranking for new consumption with 1,000 hectares, followed by Lombardy, Puglia, Sicily and Lazio. Only Valle d’Aosta, Liguria and Molise remain under 50 hectares of new artificial covers.
Recovery: a step forward too slow
The areas “returned” to nature – often former construction sites or abandoned quarries – still represent an exception. In 2024, only 5.2 km² were recovered, down from 8.2 in 2023. A worrying sign, considering that Europe has just approved the first Soil Directive, with the aim of guaranteeing healthy soils by 2050.
A virtuous example comes from Emilia-Romagna, where the renaturalization of abandoned quarries and methane pipelines has allowed the restoration of 143 hectares of land. But it remains a drop in a sea of concrete.
Fragile areas increasingly compromised
Cement continues to advance even where it shouldn’t: in areas at hydraulic risk (+1,303 hectares) and in areas subject to landslides (+600 hectares). The waterproofing of the coastal strips also continues, where the soil covered within the first 300 meters from the sea reaches 22.9%, more than triple the national average.
In the protected areas, 81 hectares of natural land have been covered, and in the Natura 2000 areas the artificial surfaces have grown by 192 hectares, with an increase of 14% compared to 2023.
Finally, another 3,750 hectares of greenery are disappearing in the city: less and less space for urban nature and for people’s well-being.
Ground-mounted photovoltaics: record growth
According to the report, the energy transition, if not planned, risks turning into new land consumption. In 2024, ground-mounted photovoltaic panels occupied over 1,700 hectares, quadrupling in just one year (there were 420 in 2023).
80% of these installations are in agricultural areas, with Lazio, Sardinia and Sicily in the lead.
A trend that calls for balance: photovoltaics must not become a new form of overbuilding, but be integrated with agrivoltaics, which in 2024 reduced its extension to 132 hectares but remains the most sustainable solution.
And there is also “digital” concrete
That’s right: in addition to traditional cement, “digital” cement is added. The surfaces occupied by logistics centers now exceed 6,000 hectares since 2006, with new expansions in Emilia-Romagna (+107 hectares), Piedmont (+74) and Lombardy (+69).
And the presence of data centers is also growing, driven by the hunger for digital and cloud infrastructures: in 2024 they occupied over 37 hectares, concentrated mainly in the North.
A rapidly developing phenomenon, which requires careful planning to prevent the race for innovation from resulting in a further loss of fertile soil.
The picture that emerges is clear: continuing to build on natural areas is no longer sustainable, which is why it is time to reverse the logic of expansion and focus on urban regeneration, reuse and redevelopment of buildings, giving back space to nature and the resilience of the territories.
Every square meter of natural soil is a precious ally against floods, drought and loss of biodiversity. Losing soil means losing the future.
