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Most liveable cities: five neglected Italian gems

The prestigious culture magazine, Monocle, has published its most liveable cities list for 2015 - with not one Italian city among the top 40. So how did they get it so wrong?

Published: 12 June 2015 10:28 CEST

Most liveable cities: five neglected Italian gems

A street scene in Palermo. Photo: Monte Cruz photo

Monocle's Quality of Life survey ranks cities around the globe according to how 'liveable' they are, based on a complex set of metrics that uses both scientific and subjective data.

Factors taken into consideration when drawing up the list include: climate, architecture, crime rate, environmental issues, food and drink, business and design.

It is therefore strange that so many of the cities on the list were grey, ugly, northern European cities with expensive coffee and cold weather.

Yes. Italy does have some well documented problems with the economy, organized crime and corruption.

But anyone who has ever eaten a pizza in a sun drenched, Renaissance piazza in Italy will tell you – life is good here.

In protest, we have prepared a short list of our own, identifying the Italian cities we believe are the worthy of a place on the list.

Our data is perhaps more subjective than scientific, but that's no matter. Sit back, relax and let The Local be your guide, as we take you on a tour of Italy's most liveable cities. You might just be surprised…

Turin

Photo: Mio Méme

There's more to Turin than factories and smog. Historically the home of Fiat, whose factories have long since closed, today Turin is a bustling and beautiful metropolis at the foot of the Alps.

The city has had to work hard to shake off its industrial reputation and is in the grip of an artistic and economic renaissance that began in 2006, when the city hosted the Winter Olympics.

Turin is jam-packed with open piazzas and baroque architecture. It is an international hotspot for electronic music and wine, which, when taken together, make for an irresistible combination.

The city's cinema and Egyptian museum are among the world's most visited – and unlike other Italian cities the buses, trams and metro run like clockwork. Okay, okay…. almost like clockwork.

The social scene is vibrant and varied, while the cost of living is much lower than other large Italian cities like Rome or Milan.

Palermo

Photo: Enric Bach

Visitors arriving in the city via plane will see the green and mountainous island rising up out of the Mediterranean like a tropical paradise.

A tropical paradise? That's exactly how life in the city often feels, not least at weekends spent on the beach, sipping beer and eating coconut. Just don't mention the 'M'-word, refrain from Godfather jokes and don't ask too many questions.

This is easier than it sounds. The stunning beauty of the city's Arab-Norman architecture, it's sprawling markets and warm-hearted and animated inhabitants quickly evaporate pretensions.

Palermo deserves a place on the list in spite of its less savoury elements. Estimates state that the mafia costs Sicily €4 billion a year, and it would be fair to say that it is a city of contrasts.

However, the city remains unparalleled in beauty of its cultural heritage, it's heart-stopping gastronomy and for the ease with which you can strike up a friendship.

Non-existent buses and trains become less important when the offer of a lift, and dinner too, is always on the table.

Florence

Photo: Shutterstock

Fact: Florence has the most pieces of Unesco world heritage art per capita in the world.

You could live in Florence your entire life and still not see it all. What's more, the city contains an enlightened number of libraries (34), making the locals a culturally well-nourished bunch.

Not only are souls well fed in Florence – stomachs are too. The city has a huge number of restaurants, where you can eat yourself silly without breaking the bank.

When you're finished, the lush surroundings of the Tuscan hills provide the perfect place for residents to go and walk off all that steak Florentine.

Rome

Photo: Ang Mokio

Ahh Rome. The Eternal City. Eternally overlooked by Monocle magazine that is!

The case for including Rome on its history alone is so obvious that it doesn't need to be made. We would say that what makes the city so special is that it hasn't become a museum – it is a huge and busting urban centre.

Living in the Italian capital brings you into contact with people from all ends of the earth: 8.6 million tourists visit Rome a year, each one bringing something unique to the city.

Outside of its excellent gastronomy, culture and climate, Rome is also one of the greenest cities in Europe. The city and its suburbs contain an environmentally-friendly 16,000 hectares of protected areas that boast a great wealth of biodiversity.

Genoa

Photo: Alessio Sbarbaro

Another underrated Italian jewel is Genoa – famous in Italy for being home to some allegedly tight-fisted locals. But don't let that old myth put you off.

Genoa is a large and bustling port that is as colourful as it is historic. It is a city of art galleries, shops and bars and is just a stone's throw from the beach.

In many ways quality of life is proportional to distance from the beach.

Genoa boasts a favourable Mediterranean climate, which is regulated by the sea breeze that guarantee mild winters and warm summers – easy living indeed.

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Ice to AC: Nine of the most common American misconceptions about Italy

It’s no secret that Americans love to visit Italy; the Washington Post predicted in December that the country would be Americans’ top foreign tourist destination for 2023, and the volume of US visitors who’ve arrived in Italy since then appears to have borne this out.

But while many Americans have a deep knowledge of – and love for – Italian culture, there are some surprisingly enduring myths about Italy that can be found in the USA specifically.

Some come close to the truth, while others fall wide of the mark.

There is no ice in Europe/Italian restaurants charge for ice

Fiction – Americans love ice, beverages are routinely served with it and refrigerators in the US often have some type of ice dispenser attached to the door.

But in Italy, ice is simply less prioritised. While ice in your drink will usually not cost you extra, you might need to specifically request it. Soft drinks in Italy are usually served without ice, so if you want your beverage iced, you need to request the drink con ghiaccio – with ice.

A classic Italian spritz should always come with ice. Photo by Tomasz Rynkiewicz on Unsplash

Italian homes don’t have dryers

Fact (mostly) – Tumble dryers do exist in Italy, but they’re rare. A survey published by Italy’s national statistics office (Istat) in 2014 found that just 3.3 percent of Italian households had one, whereas 96.2 percent had a washing machine and 39.3 percent a dishwasher.

Those washing lines strung with laundry hanging above the heads of passers by aren’t there just to create a quaint backdrop for photos – people make wide use of the abundant sun to air dry their clothes and sheets.

That does not mean that Italians in cities don’t occasionally use clothes dryers though if they’re in a rush; some might take items to a nearby laundromat.

McDonald’s is healthier in Italy

Fact (sort of) – McDonald’s uses different ingredients based on the country, and the Big Mac in Italy is (slightly) healthier than the one sold in the United States. It is slightly less calorific, with 509 kCal in contrast to the American Big Mac’s 540 kCal per 100g.

The Italian Big Mac also has less salt and fat, but it does not compare to the world’s healthiest Big Mac (found in Israel).

McDonald’s in Italy also uses EU-sourced ingredients, and the EU restricts the usage of additives and growth hormones. For example Azodicarbonamide which is used to bleach flour, is banned in the EU, but not in the United States, where McDonald’s was still using it as of 2016.

It is true, however, that you can buy beer in McDonald’s in Italy.

McDonald’s burgers are marginally healthy in Italy compared to the US. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Italians drive small cars

Fiction (increasingly) – Think of Italian cars, and you might picture a classic Fiat 500 puttering around picturesque cobbled streets – but that’s all changing.

2021 was a historic year for the Italian automotive industry: the sale of SUVs surpassed those of medium-sized sedans for the first time, claiming 48 percent of the market share compared to the sedan’s 45 percent.

That may not match the US, where SUVs and pick-up trucks currently account for around 73 percent of vehicles sold, but it’s a huge increase from 2012, when SUVs made up just 17 percent of vehicle sales in Italy.

There are no free public toilets

Fact (mostly) – You will occasionally find an Italian town or city that offers some free public toilets. For the most part though, you’ll have to pay, including in train stations – and even paid public toilets are few and fair between.

Instead, you’re better off heading to one of the many caffe-bars found all over the country and paying for a euro for a bottle of water or a coffee so you can use their facilities – if you ask nicely, you might even be allowed to go for free.

Metro stations, supermarkets and grocery stores tend to not have any toilets at all, and neither will most clothing stores. One place you will find plenty of free public bathrooms, though, is a motorway service station.

Something that strikes many visitors to Italy as odd is the lack of seats on public toilets. Exactly why this is the case is debated, but there’s a general consensus that the phenomenon has rapidly accelerated in the past couple of decades.

A street sign at an antiques fair in Turin. Free toilets in Italy are few and far between. Photo by rashid khreiss on Unsplash

Italy doesn’t have air conditioning

Fact (sort of) – There’s not no air conditioning in Italy – in fact data from Italy’s national statistics office showed that one in two Italian households had AC in 2021.

It’s far less popular than in the US, though, where 90 percent of households have air conditioning. There’s still not much of a culture of AC in Italy, where many believe it will give you a colpo d’aria leading to at best a sore neck and at worst pneumonia – so even households that have a unit tend to use it sparingly.

If your hotel or Airbnb doesn’t specifically mention AC, you can assume it doesn’t have it.

Coca-Cola tastes different in Italy

Fact – While Coke is available almost everywhere in the world, the actual ingredients in Coca-Cola are different in some countries, which could lead some Coke connoisseurs to notice a difference in taste between the products in the US and those in the EU.

The biggest difference is the regular Coke – in the US this uses high fructose corn syrup while in Europe cane sugar is used to sweeten the product, resulting in a significant difference in taste.

You’re much more likely in Italy to come across Coca Zero, the zero-sugar version of Coca-Cola, than Coca-Coca Light, the European version of Diet Coke, which has always been hard to find and which some online sources say Italy stopped distributing altogether in 2022.

Coke in the US: different to its European counterparts. Photo by Cody Engel on Unsplash

You don’t need to tip

Fact – It’s not necessary to tip after a restaurant meal in Italy. However, this is a matter of personal choice and you are free to do so (tipping certainly won’t cause upset).

Diners do often leave some change after a particularly enjoyable meal. In terms of how much to give, some people round up a bill to include a tip, while others give what spare change they have.

Some people may also opt to tip other professionals as well, such as taxi drivers and cleaners, but again – this is optional and typically not a large quantity. In some apartment buildings, residents may give a Christmas card with money inside to the portiere (doorman) as a kind of annual tip.

All cars are stick shift

Mostly fact – In the United States, stick shift vehicles are becoming a thing of the past, but in Italy they are still very much being bought and driven.

As of 2018, around 20 percent of new cars sold in Italy were automatic – which is much higher than the less-than-one percent sold in the 1980s, but still a lot less than the US’s figure of 96 percent.

That said, around 70 percent of SUVs sold in Italy use automatic transition, so with the popularity of these larger vehicles on the rise, you can expect to see more automatics on Italian roads in the future.

What do you think? Have you noticed any other common beliefs or misconceptions about Italy in the US, or elsewhere? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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