The level of digitalisation of Italian cities is improving and the North-South gap is reducing, even if the 16 leading capital cities in digital innovation are all in the North and are Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Modena, Parma, Prato, Rimini, Rome, Siena, Turin, Trento e VeniceBut just below them are another 30 highly digitalized municipalities and then 46 intermediate ones, in a ranking that sees the average innovation scores of Italian cities rising, with a leap forward especially in administrative digitalization thanks to the PNRR, while the gaps between large and small centers and between North and South are narrowing.
It is what emerges from ICity Rank 2025, the annual research on the digital transformation of the 108 provincial capitals carried out by ffa, group company Digital360, presented today at PA City Forum, the event dedicated to urban innovation. The evaluation of municipalities is divided into three indices based on 34 indicators, constructed on approximately 200 variables: the index “Digital Administrations” concerns the digitalisation of administrative activity, including websites, use of online services and adoption of national platforms; that of “Open Municipalities” the level of social media use, the dissemination of open data and the availability of apps; that “Connected cities” the digital transformation of urban services, including the development of connection networks, sensor systems and device connectable, data analysis and representation tools.
A "PNRR effect" is evident on the digitalisation of the PA
In 2025, sustained growth is seen in the Digital Administration Index for a real "PNRR effect"In this dimension, territorial and dimensional gaps have narrowed, with 96 municipalities now ranked in the high or medium-high brackets, compared to 60 two years ago. The improvement is also significant in the Connected Cities index (the number of cities in the high or medium-high brackets rose from 46 to 54), while the Open Municipalities index remains modest (from 40 to 44), where size differences remain significant.
Based on the scores achieved in the 3 ratings, in 2025 there will be 16 cities with the highest level of digitalisation, which exceed 80 points on average in the three different indexes: demonstrating the general level of growth they are double than a year ago (8). But not far away there are 30 Municipalities with a high digital level (between 66 and 70 points on average), stable compared to 2024 thanks to the advancement of 8 cities from the lower level: they are Alessandria, Arezzo, Bari, Bolzano, Cesena, Cremona, Cuneo, Ferrara, Grosseto, Lecce, Livorno, Lodi, Mantua, Messina, Monza, Naples, Padua, Palermo, Perugia, Pesaro, Pescara, Pisa, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia, Taranto, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Verona and Vicenza.
They are 46 cities "in transition", or in the intermediate band, between 51 and 65 points, up from 42 in 2024: these are Ancona, Andria, Aosta, Ascoli Piceno, Asti, Belluno, Biella, Brindisi, Caltanissetta, Catania, Catanzaro, Como, Cosenza, Enna, Fermo, Foggia, Forlì, Frosinone, Gorizia, Imperia, La Spezia, L'Aquila, Latina, Lecco, Lucca, Macerata, Massa, Matera, Novara, Oristano, Pavia, Piacenza, Pistoia, Pordenone, Ragusa, Reggio Calabria, Rovigo, Sassari, Savona, Syracuse, Sondrio, Teramo, Terni, Varese, Verbania and Vercelli.
The number of cities at the lower levels drops from 28 to 16, with scores up to 50 points. Agrigento, Avellino, Benevento, Campobasso, Carbonia, Caserta, Chieti, Nuoro, Potenza, Rieti, Salerno, Trapani, Vibo Valentia, and Viterbo have a medium-low digital level (cities that are "still hybrid" between digital and analog). At the bottom, with the lowest level of digitalization (c "starting"), are Crotone and Isernia.
The gap between small and large centers is narrowing, but the demographic and geographical factor still has an impact
Despite the reduction in distance, demographic size still influences the levels of digitalization. The 7 small innovation capitals in the highest bands are Siena, Cesena, Pisa, Grosseto, Cremona, Cuneo e Treviso. While, in a framework still characterised by North-South differences, the provincial capitals of Southern Italy with high levels of digitalisation are Cagliari, Bari, Palermo, Messina e Naples.
“ICity Rank 2025 highlights a positive improvement in the average level of digitalisation of Italian cities, also thanks to the effects of the PNRR projects which are about to conclude – states Gianni Dominici, CEO of FPA –. Through constant development, year after year, our cities have developed a digital 'nervous system', made up of platforms, sensors, data and – most recently – artificial intelligence, which today requires governance beyond the classic smart city paradigm. It is necessary to move from digital cities to "cognitive cities", capable of interpret, learn e Act semi-autonomously, anticipating citizens' needs, suggesting solutions to decision makers, and constantly learning from experience. This journey isn't just a race to technology, but a rethinking of urban governance, to create more resilient, inclusive, and democratic cities.
