The development of smart cities inevitably passes through an integrated and accessible digital ecosystem, capable of connecting citizens, businesses and public administrations through smart infrastructures and services. Italy has made significant progress in some areas, such as the expansion of broadband coverage and the adoption of digital services in public administration. However, critical issues remain, particularly regarding the population’s digital skills and the spread of ICT specialists – the latter make up 1.5 per cent of university graduates, against the EU average of 4.5 per cent.
Metropolitan cities are getting smarter: their Readiness according to EY Smart City Index 2025 is increasing by 22.7%, but far behind the leaders: Milan, Bologna, Rome, Turin and Reggio Emilia. More than half of the municipalities (52%) report difficulties in implementing projects aimed at smart urban transformation due to a lack of qualified personnel.
Italian cities are investing more and more in smart solutions: 78% of administrations that have implemented smart projects have declared that they have obtained benefits equal to or greater than expectations (Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, April 2025), but strong criticalities, territorial and cultural inequalities persist. This is what emerges from the Rome Business School study, ‘Challenges and opportunities of smart cities between digital transition, tourism and sustainability’, by Francesco Baldi, Lecturer of the International Master in Finance at Rome Business School; Massimiliano Parco, Economist, Centro Europa Ricerche; and Valerio Mancini, Director of the Rome Business School’s Disclosure Research Centre.
The report describes a fast-growing market: in 2023, public investment in smart projects in Italy exceeded 1 billion euros for the first time (Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, 2025), the global smart cities sector could reach a value of 3,757.9 billion dollars by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 29.4% between 2025 and 2030 (Grand View Research, 2025).
However, the gap between those who have access to technologies and those who are excluded from them tends to widen, risking leaving large segments of the population behind.
Technologies such as AI and biotechnology could accentuate inequalities: ‘Smartness will be all the more effective the more it can be equitable, transparent, ecological and participatory,’ says Francesco Baldi.
On the connectivity front, Italy lags behind the European average: coverage of high-capacity fixed networks reaches 52.9% of households, compared with 78.8% of the EU average, while fibre to the home is available to less than 60% of Italian households, compared with 63.9% in Europe. This infrastructure gap particularly penalises the suburbs and the Mezzogiorno, limiting the effectiveness of smart urban systems. Moreover, the digital skills of the population represent another critical issue: according to the European Commission, only 45.8% of Italians possess basic digital skills, against an EU average of 55.6%. This limits the adoption of smart services and slows down the overall digital transformation.
The report shows that Milan leads urban digitisation in Italy, followed by Bologna, Rome, Turin, Reggio Emilia, Genoa, Bari, Florence, Modena and Venice (EY Smart City Index, 2025). Compared to 2022, metropolitan cities have improved their “Readiness” by 22.7%, thanks to a strategic commitment to digitisation. The use of data platforms, IoT sensors (+30%) and urban control centres (+40%) is on the rise. However, only 13% of capitals have integrated systems for traffic, energy and security.
Sustainable mobility is one of the most developed areas in smart city projects in Italy. The solutions adopted range from the expansion of electric public transport to the introduction of micro-mobility services and digital traffic management. Milan, for example, has more than 18,000 shared bicycles and around 2,000 charging points for electric vehicles, while in Bologna urban sensor systems are in place to regulate flows. Smart mobility is considered a strategic lever not only for reducing emissions, but also for improving the quality of life in urban centres.
However, the availability of advanced infrastructure is not uniform. Comparison with major European cities shows a significant gap. Paris has 16 metro lines and almost 250 km of network; Madrid and Barcelona have 13 and 12 respectively; Berlin and Munich, 9 each. In Italy, only Milan comes close to these standards, with 5 active metro lines. Rome, in particular, despite being the capital and the city with the largest geographical area, does not have an extensive and capillary metro network: suffice it to say that Paris has eight times the number of stations as Rome. This infrastructural backwardness limits the potential of sustainable mobility policies and negatively affects the effectiveness of smart urban systems.
Among the most recent trends is the integration of smart cities and tourism. In cities of art, tourism is among the sectors that benefit most from smart technologies. In Rome, where the Colosseum has exceeded 14 million visitors in 2024, time-based reservation systems, digital assistants and regulated access have been introduced to reduce overcrowding at sites such as the Trevi Fountain.
The city, which recorded 22 million arrivals in 2024, is tackling critical issues with innovative strategies, such as those in the “Roma Smart City” plan, which promotes sustainable tourism integrated with urban identity. Revenue from the tourism tax is reinvested in infrastructure, green transport and heritage protection.
IoT sensors, mobile apps and smart signage help monitor flows in real time and guide visitors along alternative routes. Since 2025, “Julia”, a virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence, has been in operation, providing information on transport, museums and personalised routes. In parallel, the company Sensoworks develops networks for monitoring pedestrian flows, as in Via Ottaviano, to support urban planning.
Environmental sustainability remains a priority, but only 13 per cent of capitals have activated digital systems for real-time monitoring of air quality. Moreover, in 2024, as many as 25 chief towns exceeded the daily PM10 limits, with Frosinone (70 days) and Milan (68 days) in the lead (Report Mal’Aria di città 2025, Legambiente). Moreover, although no city has exceeded the current annual limit of 40 µg/m³, many control units show worrying values that testify to a systemic spread of the problem. The situation is even more critical if we look at the future European limits set for 2030: the annual limit for NO₂ will be lowered to 20 µg/m³. Again according to the Legambiente report, almost 45% of Italian cities today exceed this threshold, with peaks recorded in Palermo (59 µg/m³) and Naples (54 µg/m³).
Smart Cities can and must play a decisive role through: real-time monitoring of air quality by means of IoT sensors and data analytics; low-emission dynamic zoning, managed by digital platforms and artificial intelligence; promotion of soft mobility (bike sharing, pedestrianisation, micro-mobility) as the backbone of the new urban space; and transparent collection and communication of environmental data to citizens, tourists and businesses. Cities like Milan, despite its criticalities, have begun to invest in these directions: according to the ranking of the EY Smart City Index report (2025), it is first in digital innovation, mobility and sustainability.
Ultimately, the future of Italy’s smart cities will depend on their ability to overcome inequalities and put innovation at the service of collective well-being.
As Valerio Mancini points out, “a smart city is not a technological achievement, but a social and cultural process: only if it can be inclusive, transparent and participatory can innovation generate value and wellbeing for all”.