Real estate in Italy

Real estate in Italy

The Colosseum represents this uniqueness in which the patrimonial value goes beyond the sum of the parts of value with which the real estate is estimated, parts that collect the social, cultural, touristic but also artistic, architectural and archaeological aspects in addition to representing a brand or an icon.

Italy has always been a country rich in real estate, in particular, luxury property. In 2024, the total value of Italian real estate assets is estimated between 5,000 and 10,000 billion euros. However, recent studies in 2025 on the real estate sector suggest that the exact figure is 16 trillion euros. A figure that takes into account Italy's unique cultural heritage and the overall recent and ongoing investments for its protection. Furthermore, if the assets that reside in Italy but owned by the Catholic Church and the Vatican State are inserted, this estimate is raised at 25 trillions of euros.

In 2024, the Italian real estate market had a significant increase in the sale of residential homes with 15.8%, mortgages for purchase grew by 5.7% and prices increased by 7.8%. In addition, there was a strong increase in purchases by foreigners, mainly from Germany, as well as residents of the United States and the United Kingdom. A total of 8,100 transactions for a value of over 5 billion euros and an average purchase value of around 640 thousand euros. The purchase of luxury and prestigious properties by foreign residents does not only occur for residential or housing purposes, but also as a form of investment.

In 2024, over 75% of Italians will own at least one home. Investing in a residential or holiday home is seen by Italians as a good investment that provides stability and security throughout their lives.

Protection and defense of the territory and real estate assets from threats

Unfortunately, this immense real estate heritage is threatened by frequent destructive rains with floods and consequent landslides, earthquakes, arsons, abandonment and neglect, as well as degradation and dirt. All these elements have led to a sharp increase in the costs for their conservation and maintenance for Italian families, which for some in recent years has gradually become unsustainable. The Italian government has intervened by promoting maintenance and energy adaptation work with tax breaks that have helped to partially resolve the cost problem. But not all Italians have been able to access these tax breaks and restore their properties, in particular the lower income brackets, the less wealthy. The so-called "Superbonus 110%" tax measure has not been as effective as it was intended, only upper-middle class Italians have been able to take advantage of these tax benefits and renovate and restore their properties, adapting them to better energy classes. Despite the benefits for the energy transition, it has generated market imbalances and a limited impact on the real estate market. Furthermore, this measure has burdened public spending, not favoring a balanced budget of the Italian state.

In addition to the destructive elements due in part to climate change, there are also social ones that damage real estate assets such as illegal building, illegal occupation, theft, arson, pollution mainly committed by criminals, criminal gangs or criminal organizations. But the Italian State has deployed to combat these destructive elements, a civil protection among the best in the world, firefighters and police forces among the most efficient and organized that have limited and stopped these destructive phenomena. The Italian state has responded to illegal building with demolitions and restoration of the landscape, to illegal occupation with actions of eviction and evacuation of occupied structures, to thefts in homes and villas with arrests of criminal gangs that have blocked and limited the crimes, to the assets of criminal organizations it has responded with confiscation and reassignment, to arsons with preventive actions and control of the territory also with drones and limiting the damage with the work of civil protection, volunteers and the fire brigade, to pollution of the territory it has responded with actions of reclamation and restoration of the landscape. In conclusion, in recent years the Italian state has been increasingly determined to take actions to protect the territory and real estate.

Redevelopment of the territory and real estate assets

In recent years, the Italian state, through local institutions, has been strongly committed to urban redevelopment with the demolition of dilapidated or degraded buildings both from a constructive and social point of view. An emblematic example is the demolition of the sails of Scampia in Naples, a symbol of architectural, social and moral degradation, that for decades was under the control of criminal organizations. The Italian State is currently carrying out a redevelopment action in Caivano, a model or method that it wants to extend to all parts of Italy. However, there is still much to be done to rehabilitate situations of urban decay, as currently happens, with city areas in the hands of criminal gangs of illegal immigrants. Criminal gangs composed mainly of illegal immigrants often compete for control of the territory for drug dealing and often under the management of criminal organizations give rise to frequent episodes of violence such as fights and acts of violence such as theft and rape against Italian citizens and tourists. These areas, which may be parts of towns and neighborhoods, may experience a temporary depreciation of the real estate assets depending on whether the degradation phenomenon continues or not. In recent years, Milan, for example, like many other Italian cities, has undergone this type of criminal evolution. The Italian state's response to these criminals is containment and repression with arrests, removals and expulsions from the national territory depending on the seriousness of the crimes.

History

During the millennia and centuries, Italy, for mild climate and for the great variety of climatic environments, offered the perfect place for the construction of luxury real estate and of great artistic and cultural value.

In the Italian peninsula there are numerous archaeological testimonies of inhabited settlements or buildings in prehistoric times, of pre-Nuragic, Nuragic, Phoenician and Punic civilizations, particularly in Sardinia.

Neolithic

The oldest building in Italy is the Altar of Monte d'Accoddi, located in Sardinia, with the oldest parts dated to around 4000–3650 BC.

Nuragic

Nuraghe Su Nuraxi, Barumini, Sardinia

Among the numerous testimonies of the Nuragic civilization that have been discovered in Sardinia, the most significant and ancient are Su Nuraxi of Barumini recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Nuraghe Santu Antine in Torralba, Sardinia.

Etruscans

Volterra has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods.

The Etruscans were among the first civilizations to reside on the Italian peninsula, and gave a fundamental contribution to subsequent civilizations such as the Roman one in the foundation of cities and inhabited centers. An emblematic example is the city of Volterra, founded by the Etruscans. Volterra was one of the Etruscan dodecapolis.

Magna Graecia

The Doric temple of Segesta, Province of Trapani

Ortygia island, where Syracuse, Sicily was founded in ancient Greek times

The Greek colonies in the south of the Italian peninsula, known as Magna Graecia, gave another fundamental contribution to the development of cities and inhabited centers in the Italian peninsula, and they too, like the Etruscan ones, played an essential role in the expansion and evolution of Roman civilization. Clear examples are Neapolis (Naples) and Syrakousai (Syracuse).

Ancient Rome

The first historical examples of luxury houses or luxury villas, are from the period of the Roman Empire.
In particular, the villas of Roman Emperors, represented the quintessential luxury.
Today some are protected as Heritage archaeological of inestimable value and as UNESCO World Heritage Site, as, for example, Hadrian's Villa.

At Capri, the Roman Emperor Tiberius had built 12 villas. The archaeological remains are scattered throughout the island, but they are, however, only 3 villas that have preserved the original structure still visible: Villa Jovis, Villa Damecuta and Palazzo a Mare.

While Nero had the Domus Aurea built in Rome.

Luxury Real Estate

The word itself luxury derived from the Latin luxus, and associated with real estate, indicates today in Italy, a category of properties of particular value and of high historical and artistic value.

Middle Ages

Towers in San Gimignano

Castel del Monte, Andria

Palazzo dei Papi, Viterbo

The dissolution of the Western Roman Empire brings in Italy the creation of many barbarian kingdoms, as, for example, Kingdom of the Lombards, that evolved over the centuries in feudal lordships. During this period were built the medieval villages with fortified walls and towers. Because of widespread fragmentation in kingdoms and feudal lords, often at war with each other, were built castles and fortresses, often embedded in medieval villages. Today some are protected as Heritage of inestimable value and as UNESCO World Heritage Site, as, for example, The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano", in Tuscany or Castel del Monte, Andria in Apulia. These villages, also called borghi, from burgus, fortified by walls and towers, evolved from Roman cities, which in turn evolved from the castrum and the oppidum. The village was a place of exchange and trade. The flourishing trade favored the rise of a new social class, the borghesia. The cities, increasingly rich and size with trade, free themselves from the imperial control of the Holy Roman Empire, ascending to become autonomous communes governed by a doge, as for Genoa and Venice or feudal overlords and the noble class. This period saw the clash between Guelphs and Ghibellines for the predominance of power between the Pope and the Emperor. These cities become city-states, rich and powerful to extend their dominion over smaller cities and villages. Genoa, Venice, Pisa and Amalfi became powerful maritime republics. Medieval Italy was fragmented into numerous states or administrative units that evolved in their specificity. The real estate heritage of medieval origin in Italy is still well preserved. Most of these have been kept mostly original, while another minority of these buildings have undergone modifications and expansions becoming incorporated into Renaissance buildings and which have then undergone further modifications in later periods. Another even smaller part has instead been lost or destroyed to make way for new buildings or roads or following earthquakes or war events. The largest and best preserved medieval quarter in Europe is the medieval quarter of San Pellegrino in Viterbo. However, during the Second World War, Viterbo also suffered serious damage to its cultural heritage, leaving a third of the city destroyed or severely damaged.

Baroque

Royal Palace of Caserta

Neo-Renaissance

Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali in Florence, Italy

Modern

Palazzo Generali in Trieste

Contemporary

Bosco Verticale in Milan

Intesa Sanpaolo Skyscraper in Turin designed by Renzo Piano

In 2024, the enhancement of the Italian real estate heritage originates from the new relationship or balance that contemporary man must have with the environment and the territory, not a land to occupy but a place to regenerate, new buildings like those in modern use must be eco-sustainable and energy efficient, according to the European parameters and constraints of energy efficiency foreseen by the European Green Deal. Furthermore, there is a different sensitivity towards places and landscape in compliance with Italian laws on landscape constraints. The Italian state, through local institutions, supported urban regeneration and land redevelopment projects, demolishing abusive or degraded buildings. In Italy, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the illegal building is no longer regularized, currently illegal construction is demolished to protect the environment and places.
In 2024, the environment and the territory in Italy are seen as integral part of the health and well-being of the community, of the inhabitants and even the urban territory is understood in this sense, as part of the health and well-being of citizens. Among the many urban redevelopment projects in Italy that fully embody this new search for balance between man and environment, there is the Bosco Verticale built in the city of Milan, which is not only a complex urban reforestation project, but also proposes itself as a new architectural concept. A concept that has a historical precursor in the Torre Guinigi in Lucca. While in Turin the Intesa Sanpaolo Skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano was built, a clear example of Contemporary architecture, a bioclimatic and energy efficient building. Furthermore, Renzo Piano is the architect of the most important urban and marine redevelopment project in Italy with the renovation of the marine and exhibition area of Genoa called Waterfront di Levante.

Neo-futurism

Generali Tower in Milan

The city of Milan presents numerous projects of urban regeneration and construction of new skyscrapers in Neo-futurist architectural style. A clear example is the CityLife project.

Renewal

Renewal is the current architectural style such as Neo-futuristic but strongly oriented towards integration into the environment, where the newly constructed building is inserted into a context of urban redevelopment and reforestation and landscape protection. While the existing Italian real estate heritage is maintained, restored and preserved, in harmony with the environment and therefore revalued. The environment, through its protection, plays a fundamental role in the health and well-being of the community, its inhabitants and citizens. Among the many projects completed and underway, there is for example the new Bocconi Urban Campus in Milan created by the Japanese studio SANAA by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. However, the project, which draws inspiration from the internal courtyards of Milanese palaces, partly captures the stylistic concept of the Italian Renewal, understood as a renewed balance between man and nature, as although the buildings present Neo-futuristic architectural elements, it harks back to minimalism of Japanese architecture.

See Also

• Italian architecture
• History of architecture
• History of architecture and art in Milan
• Culture of Italy
• Tourism in Italy
• Protezione Civile
• Vigili del Fuoco
• Polizia di Stato
• Carabinieri
• Esercito Italiano
• Fondo Ambiente Italiano