Europe · 32 cities
Italy for digital nomads: 32 cities compared (2026)
Italy has 32 cities in the dataset. Cagliari scores highest under balanced weights at 71/100; Rome is the cheapest with a city-level price at $2,049 a month. Italy has a dedicated remote-work visa, the Digital nomad and remote worker visa.
Dataset 2026.10.7. How scoring works.
Cities in Italy, ranked
Balanced weights, every factor equal. Open a city for the full breakdown with sources, or rank them with your own weights.
| # | City | Score | Cost/mo | Internet | Comfortable months | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cagliari Sardinian capital with a city beach and slow rhythm | 71 | $2,300* | 41.2 Mbps | 8/12 | Poetto beach · Castello quarter |
| 2 | Rome History on every corner, chaos on every road | 71 | $2,049 | 35.3 Mbps | 6/12 | Ancient sites · Trattorias |
| 3 | Siracusa Greek ruins and Baroque Ortigia on the Sicilian coast | 71 | $2,300* | 40.8 Mbps | 7/12 | Ortigia island old town · Greek theatre |
| 4 | Lecce Baroque city of the Salento, at Italy's heel | 71 | $2,300* | 49 Mbps | 8/12 | Baroque architecture · Two seas within half an hour |
| 5 | Alghero Catalan-speaking walled town on Sardinia's Coral Riviera | 71 | $2,300* | 37.7 Mbps | 8/12 | Catalan old town on the sea walls · Riviera del Corallo beaches |
| 6 | Sorrento Cliff-top resort for Capri and the Amalfi Coast, overrun in summer | 70 | $2,300* | 30.2 Mbps | 8/12 | Capri ferries · Amalfi Coast buses |
| 7 | Bari Southern port with a lively old town and Puglia on the doorstep | 70 | $2,300* | 43.8 Mbps | 6/12 | Bari Vecchia · Fresh pasta streets |
| 8 | Naples Loud, cheap and the best pizza on earth | 70 | $2,300* | 40.2 Mbps | 6/12 | Pizza and street food · Amalfi and islands nearby |
| 9 | Pisa Student city with its own airport, an hour from Florence | 70 | $2,300* | 40.6 Mbps | 6/12 | Leaning Tower and Campo dei Miracoli · University and Scuola Normale |
| 10 | Palermo Sicilian capital with a raw, rich street life | 69 | $2,300* | 37.1 Mbps | 7/12 | Street food and markets · Beaches nearby |
| 11 | Bologna Food capital and university town under porticoes | 69 | $2,305 | 39.9 Mbps | 5/12 | Food (tortellini, ragù) · Oldest university |
| 12 | Parma Food capital of Emilia with opera, bikes and fast trains | 69 | $2,300* | 44.5 Mbps | 6/12 | Prosciutto and Parmigiano · Teatro Regio and Verdi |
| 13 | Matera Cave-house city of the Sassi, striking and hard to reach | 69 | $2,300* | 44.4 Mbps | 6/12 | Sassi cave dwellings (UNESCO) · European Capital of Culture 2019 |
| 14 | Catania Sicily's gritty, cheap city under Etna | 69 | $2,300* | 40.3 Mbps | 6/12 | Mount Etna · Baroque centre |
| 15 | Perugia Umbrian hilltop capital with a jazz festival and a foreigners' university | 69 | $2,300* | 30.5 Mbps | 5/12 | Medieval hilltop centre · Umbria Jazz in July |
| 16 | Venice Car-free lagoon city, extraordinary and overrun | 69 | $2,300* | 35.8 Mbps | 6/12 | Grand Canal and vaporetti · Biennale and Carnival |
| 17 | Genoa Ligurian port city with the Riviera on both sides | 69 | $2,300* | 47.8 Mbps | 5/12 | Largest medieval centre in Europe · Pesto and focaccia |
| 18 | Milan Italy's business and design capital | 69 | $2,305 | 29.7 Mbps | 5/12 | Design and fashion · Metro network |
| 19 | Rimini Adriatic beach resort that goes quiet from November to Easter | 68 | $2,300* | 30.8 Mbps | 6/12 | 15 km of sandy beaches · Fellini's home town |
| 20 | Florence Renaissance city that fits in an afternoon walk | 68 | $2,300* | 30 Mbps | 4/12 | Renaissance art · Tuscan food and wine |
| 21 | Bergamo Walled hilltop old town above one of Italy's busiest low-cost airports | 68 | $2,300* | 33.9 Mbps | 5/12 | Città Alta and its Venetian walls · Orio al Serio airport 5 km away |
| 22 | Trieste Habsburg port city on the edge of Italy | 68 | $2,300* | 37.5 Mbps | 5/12 | Grand cafés · Karst plateau |
| 23 | Modena Motor Valley city of Ferrari, balsamic vinegar and a UNESCO cathedral | 68 | $2,300* | 45.8 Mbps | 5/12 | Ferrari, Maserati and Pagani · Balsamic vinegar and Osteria Francescana |
| 24 | Olbia Sardinia's gateway port with an airport in town and the Costa Smeralda next door | 68 | $2,300* | 27.1 Mbps | 6/12 | Olbia airport 4 km from the centre · Ferries to the mainland |
| 25 | Siena Gothic hill town of the Palio, with Chianti at the door | 68 | $2,300* | 25.5 Mbps | 5/12 | Piazza del Campo · Palio horse race in July and August |
| 26 | Verona Roman arena, opera and Lake Garda next door | 68 | $2,300* | 37.4 Mbps | 5/12 | Arena opera season · Lake Garda |
| 27 | Padua Student city 25 minutes from Venice, at a fraction of the cost | 67 | $2,300* | 36.1 Mbps | 5/12 | University of Padua, founded 1222 · Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel |
| 28 | Turin Elegant, underrated and cheaper than Milan | 67 | $2,152 | 41.3 Mbps | 4/12 | Baroque boulevards · Alps nearby |
| 29 | Como Lake Como's town, between Milan's trains and the Swiss border | 67 | $2,300* | 31.5 Mbps | 3/12 | Lake Como and the Brunate funicular · Milan 40 min by train |
| 30 | Trento Alpine university city near the top of Italy's quality-of-life rankings | 67 | $2,300* | 35.6 Mbps | 3/12 | Dolomites and lakes nearby · High quality-of-life rankings |
| 31 | Lucca Flat walled town built for bicycles, 30 minutes from Pisa airport | 66 | $2,300* | 23.2 Mbps | 4/12 | Renaissance walls you can cycle · Puccini and the summer festival |
| 32 | Bolzano Bilingual Alpine city with top quality-of-life scores and some of Italy's highest rents | 62 | $2,300* | 37.8 Mbps | 0/12 | German and Italian bilingual · Ötzi the Iceman museum |
* national estimate
National figures shared by every city
These come from country-level sources and apply to every city in Italy; city pages add the local numbers.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide rate | 0.57 per 100,000 people | Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), 2024 |
| Political stability | 74 (percentile, World Bank WGI) | Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), 2025 |
| Health coverage index | 82 (WHO UHC index, 0–100) | UHC service coverage index, 2023 |
| Life expectancy | 82.2 years | Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, 2021 |
| Human Development Index | 0.915 | Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), 2023 |
| English proficiency | moderate | EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), 2024 |
| Starlink | available | Starlink availability map, 2026-10 |
Visas and entry
What three common passports get at the border, from the passport index. Pick your own passport on the ranker for the full picture.
| Passport | Entry rule |
|---|---|
| US passport | 90 days visa-free |
| EU passport | freedom of movement |
| UK passport | 90 days visa-free |
Compare cities in Italy
Head-to-head pages for the pairs people look at most.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Italy good for digital nomads?
- Cagliari scores 71/100 under balanced weights, which ranks it 70 of 1,000 cities in the dataset. Italy's 32 cities average 68.5/100. Strongest factors in Cagliari: healthcare and air quality; weakest: cost of living.
- What is the cheapest city in Italy for a remote worker?
- Rome, at about $2,049 a month for one person including rent (WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), 2026-09). Milan is the most expensive city-priced option at $2,305.
- Does Italy have a digital nomad visa?
- Yes: the Digital nomad and remote worker visa. Minimum income $2,385/month. Details, documents and official sources are in the Italy visa guide.
- How long can a US, EU or UK citizen stay in Italy without a visa?
- US passport: 90 days visa-free. EU passport (Germany as reference): freedom of movement. UK passport: 90 days visa-free. Source: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), 2026-02.
- Which city in Italy has the fastest internet?
- Lecce, with a measured median download of 49 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024). Measured speeds run below advertised plans everywhere; 40 Mbps measured is already good.
- How safe is Italy?
- Italy records 0.57 homicides per 100,000 people (Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), 2024) and sits at the 74th percentile for political stability (World Bank WGI, 2025). These are national figures; city pages note local caveats.
More countries in Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- All countries
Rank all 1,000 cities your way
Open the ranker →