The thirty-fifth edition of Il Sole 24 Ore's Quality of Life survey, launched in 1990 to measure well-being levels in Italian territories, marks the victory of the province of Bergamo, which this year has displaced Trento in second place and Bolzano in third. Reggio Calabria, on the other hand, is in last place, with the bottom 25 positions all occupied by provinces in southern Italy.

The Il Sole 24 Ore survey captures well-being in Italian provinces through 90 indicators divided into six categories: wealth and consumption; business and work; environment and services; demographics, society and health; justice and security; culture and leisure.

The top 10 of the ranking is a mirror of a country where major cities are beginning to show various fragilities: the only one present is Bologna, in ninth place, dropping six positions compared to the 2023 edition. For the rest, medium-sized provinces triumph: Monza and Brianza (4th place), followed by Cremona and Udine, last year's winner, Verona and Vicenza. Closing after Bologna is Ascoli Piceno. The northeastern region wins, with three Lombard provinces, the two autonomous provinces of Trentino Alto Adige, two Veneto provinces, one from Emilia-Romagna and one from Marche.

Metropolitan cities register a widespread collapse: Bologna drops 7 positions, Milan 4 positions passing to 12th place, Florence (36th place) marks a -30 after being in the top 10 for three consecutive years, and Rome drops -24 positions, plummeting to 59th place. Turin loses 22 positions, arriving at 58th place just ahead of the Capital. Naples is second to last, while Bari is one of the few to rise: an increase of 4 positions brings it to 65th place.

Biella wins in Wealth and Consumption; Milan maintains its leadership in Business and Work; Brescia is first in Environment and Services; Bolzano is leader in Demographics, Health and Society; Ascoli Piceno leads the Justice and Security ranking; Trieste is the best for Culture and Leisure.

A special mention goes to Florence, which wins the fourth edition of the Women's Quality of Life survey.