Choosing a place to retire or to buy a second home in Italy is not easy. You have to consider your budget, climate, geographical features, seismic hazard, appeal of the area, and many other things.
Thousands of people have done this before you, most of them after a thorough investigation of Italy and its real estate market. So why not learn from the facts? Check out the ranking of areas with the highest relative presence of foreign residents. Yes, this is the ULTIMATE TOP 30 of the most wanted residential areas in Italy.
See where your fellow countrymen live in Italy. The table shows foreign residents of the following nationalities: Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and others (*) include Czech Republic, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Australia, New-Zealand and South-Africa. Nationalities which are not specifically mentioned here have not been considered in this research.
Top 30 of most wanted residential areas in Italy (source: ISTAT)
| #R | Area in Italy | Region (Comune) | Features (RE prices) | DE | UK | US | CH | NL | BE | AT | Other* | Tot. Popu-lation | Tot. Residents of Selected Countries | Popu-lation % of Selected Foreign Residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Imperia provincia | Liguria | mountains/ sea | 350 | 216 | 19 | 49 | 100 | 14 | 5 | 69 | 31.449 | 896 | 2.8 % |
| Molini di Triora | €€ | 18 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 606 | 68 | 11.2 % | ||
| Montalto Carpasio | €€ | 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 510 | 42 | 8.2 % | ||
| Dolcedo | €€ | 48 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.338 | 77 | 5.8 % | ||
| 2 | Isola d'Elba | Toscana | sea/island €€€€ |
406 | 29 | 7 | 85 | 15 | 22 | 32 | 32 | 29.501 | 692 | 2.3 % |
| 3 | Bolzano provincia | Trentino- Alto Adige | mountains | 3.796 | 112 | 67 | 171 | 97 | 42 | 1.383 | 395 | 425.712 | 7.841 | 1.8 % |
| Caldaro sulla strada del vino | €€€€ | 117 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 57 | 8.092 | 300 | 3.7 % | ||
| Lana | €€€€ | 188 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 57 | 12.486 | 352 | 2.8 % | ||
| Bressanone | €€€€ | 293 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 126 | 22.582 | 643 | 2.8 % | ||
| 4 | Lago Maggiore | Lombardia / Piemonte | lake/ mountains | 406 | 200 | 89 | 195 | 115 | 95 | 24 | 129 | 90.858 | 1.406 | 1.5 % |
| Lago Maggiore (VA) | €€ | 300 | 134 | 24 | 125 | 85 | 84 | 18 | 100 | 53.767 | 988 | 1.8 % | ||
| Lago Maggiore (VB) | €€€ | 80 | 36 | 10 | 62 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 18.695 | 244 | 1.3 % | ||
| Lago Maggiore (NO) | €€ | 26 | 30 | 55 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 18.396 | 174 | 0.9 % | ||
| 5 | Lago Trasimeno | Umbria | lake/ hills €€ |
128 | 210 | 50 | 19 | 52 | 22 | 5 | 62 | 45.036 | 615 | 1.4 % |
| 6 | Grosseto provincia | Toscana | hills/sea | 484 | 140 | 38 | 145 | 42 | 19 | 30 | 70 | 79.796 | 1.068 | 1.3 % |
| Roccastrada | €€€ | 61 | 13 | 1 | 39 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 8.858 | 146 | 1.6 % | ||
| Gavorrano | €€€ | 61 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 8364 | 113 | 1.4 % | ||
| 7 | Lago di Garda | Lombardia / Trentino /Veneto | lake/ mountains | 595 | 133 | 50 | 43 | 152 | 44 | 61 | 197 | 126.268 | 1.533 | 1.2 % |
| Lago di Garda (VE) | €€€ | 294 | 49 | 15 | 16 | 66 | 12 | 28 | 63 | 39.934 | 634 | 1.6 % | ||
| Lago di Garda (TN) | €€€€ | 81 | 26 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 20.447 | 211 | 1.0 % | ||
| Lago di Garda (BS) | €€€ | 220 | 58 | 25 | 18 | 71 | 28 | 27 | 107 | 65.887 | 688 | 1.0 % | ||
| 8 | Massa Carrara provincia | Toscana | hills € |
86 | 240 | 27 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 3 | 35 | 66.864 | 499 | 0.7 % |
| 9 | Terni provincia | Umbria | hills | 150 | 184 | 119 | 22 | 74 | 30 | 8 | 128 | 114.178 | 851 | 0.7 % |
| Montegabbione | € | 30 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.145 | 46 | 4.0 % | ||
| Monteleone d'Orvieto | € | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.387 | 40 | 2.9 % | ||
| Ficulle | € | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.593 | 32 | 2.0 % | ||
| San Venanzo | € | 6 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2.187 | 49 | 2.2 % | ||
| 10 | Lucca provincia | Toscana | hills | 154 | 620 | 103 | 25 | 69 | 29 | 8 | 174 | 198.801 | 1.364 | 0.7 % |
| Bagni di Lucca | €€ | 9 | 138 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 5.727 | 213 | 3.7 % | ||
| Barga | €€ | 6 | 113 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 9.606 | 164 | 1.7 % | ||
| 11 | Lago di Como | Lombardia | lake/ mountains | 271 | 331 | 102 | 132 | 90 | 54 | 24 | 196 | 203.380 | 1.420 | 0.7 % |
| Lago di Como (CO) | €€€ | 221 | 288 | 80 | 122 | 79 | 43 | 19 | 159 | 12.5105 | 1.189 | 0.9 % | ||
| Lago di Como (LC) | €€ | 50 | 43 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 37 | 78.275 | 231 | 0.3 % | ||
| 12 | Siena provincia | Toscana | hills | 344 | 279 | 160 | 101 | 90 | 49 | 39 | 167 | 213.029 | 1.435 | 0.7 % |
| Gaiole in Chianti | €€€ | 13 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2.756 | 72 | 2.6 % | ||
| Montalcino | €€€ | 41 | 27 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 5.920 | 139 | 2.3 % | ||
| 13 | Costa Sassari | Sardegna | sea/ island €€€ |
356 | 214 | 74 | 76 | 33 | 53 | 33 | 126 | 184.332 | 1.124 | 0.6 % |
| 14 | Arezzo provincia | Toscana | hills | 372 | 413 | 152 | 67 | 74 | 41 | 23 | 90 | 244.553 | 1.345 | 0.5 % |
| Anghiari | €€ | 32 | 41 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 5.483 | 111 | 2.0 % | ||
| Cortona | €€ | 53 | 117 | 65 | 9 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 21 | 21.795 | 327 | 1.5 % | ||
| 15 | Costa Ligure | Liguria | sea/ hills | 737 | 427 | 196 | 192 | 216 | 84 | 65 | 376 | 495.863 | 2.734 | 0.6 % |
| Costa Ligure (SP) | €€€€€ | 71 | 43 | 50 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 24.315 | 263 | 1.1 % | ||
| Costa Ligure (IM) | €€€ | 419 | 209 | 59 | 75 | 119 | 50 | 27 | 191 | 182.391 | 1.367 | 0.7 % | ||
| Costa Ligure (GE) | €€€€ | 104 | 120 | 70 | 63 | 42 | 13 | 26 | 81 | 152.651 | 626 | 0.4 % | ||
| Costa Ligure (SV) | €€€€ | 143 | 55 | 17 | 44 | 49 | 16 | 9 | 68 | 136.506 | 478 | 0.4 % | ||
| 16 | Isola di Capri | Campania | sea/ island €€€€€ |
22 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 14.110 | 85 | 0.6 % |
| 17 | Perugia provincia | Umbria | hills | 402 | 711 | 296 | 60 | 135 | 92 | 56 | 242 | 446.929 | 2.292 | 0.5 % |
| Monte Santa Maria Tiberina | € | 1 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1.215 | 58 | 4.8 % | ||
| Monte Castello di Vibio | € | 5 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1.675 | 46 | 2.7 % | ||
| Montone | € | 4 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1.648 | 45 | 2.7 % | ||
| Piegaro | € | 29 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3.718 | 80 | 2.2 % | ||
| 18 | Savona provincia | Liguria | mountains/ sea | 139 | 67 | 12 | 34 | 46 | 11 | 6 | 35 | 80.661 | 391 | 0.5 % |
| Casanova Lerrone | €€ | 27 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 732 | 36 | 4.9 % | ||
| Castelbianco | €€ | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 321 | 17 | 5.3 % | ||
| 19 | Fermo provincia | Le Marche | hills/ sea | 81 | 278 | 29 | 13 | 53 | 28 | 7 | 96 | 137.300 | 688 | 0.5 % |
| Montefalcone Appennino | € | 1 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 386 | 20 | 5.2 % | ||
| Montelparo | € | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 722 | 31 | 4.3 % | ||
| Amandola | € | 3 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3.401 | 75 | 2.2 % | ||
| 20 | Viterbo provincia | Lazio | hills/ sea | 248 | 227 | 114 | 40 | 93 | 43 | 31 | 165 | 251.680 | 1.157 | 0.5 % |
| Bolsena | €€ | 32 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 3.865 | 106 | 2.7 % | ||
| Bagnoregio | €€ | 15 | 21 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 3.531 | 88 | 2.5 % | ||
| 21 | Asti provincia | Piemonte | hills | 76 | 138 | 20 | 128 | 49 | 19 | 13 | 86 | 139.952 | 628 | 0.4 % |
| Cassinasco | € | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 599 | 14 | 2.3 % | ||
| Vesime | € | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 609 | 18 | 3.0 % | ||
| 22 | Firenze provincia | Toscana | hills | 595 | 496 | 342 | 155 | 190 | 87 | 72 | 369 | 650.566 | 2.747 | 0.4 % |
| Greve in Chianti | €€€ | 46 | 23 | 17 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 13767 | 176 | 1.3 % | ||
| Montaione | €€€ | 14 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3.607 | 45 | 1.2 % | ||
| Barberino Tavarnelle | €€€ | 29 | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 12.076 | 118 | 1.0 % | ||
| Montespertoli | €€€ | 32 | 20 | 25 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 13.480 | 134 | 1.0 % | ||
| 23 | Costa Toscana | Toscana | sea | 457 | 330 | 186 | 149 | 103 | 44 | 59 | 299 | 476.937 | 1.985 | 0.4 % |
| Costa Toscana (LU) | €€€€ | 108 | 155 | 66 | 29 | 36 | 19 | 11 | 99 | 121.768 | 633 | 0.5 % | ||
| Costa Toscana (PI) | €€€ | 93 | 54 | 55 | 12 | 31 | 7 | 7 | 67 | 89.498 | 400 | 0.4 % | ||
| Costa Toscana (LI) | €€€ | 128 | 47 | 20 | 66 | 23 | 10 | 23 | 48 | 123.838 | 436 | 0.4 % | ||
| Costa Toscana (GR) | €€€€ | 128 | 74 | 45 | 42 | 13 | 8 | 18 | 85 | 141.833 | 516 | 0.4 % | ||
| 24 | Livorno provincia | Toscana | hills/ sea €€ |
30 | 9 | 5 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 24.802 | 87 | 0.4 % |
| 25 | Pisa provincia | Toscana | hills | 362 | 216 | 76 | 94 | 90 | 36 | 36 | 161 | 329.539 | 1.268 | 0.4 % |
| Montecatini Val di Cecina | €€ | 19 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1.679 | 52 | 3.1 % | ||
| Castellina Marittima | €€ | 10 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.912 | 31 | 1.6 % | ||
| 26 | Penisola Sorrentina | Campania | sea/ hills | 49 | 168 | 51 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 55 | 115.686 | 447 | 0.4 % |
| Costiera Amalfitana | €€€€€ | 20 | 38 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 34668 | 146 | 0.4 % | ||
| Costiera Sorrentina | €€€€ | 29 | 130 | 25 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 36 | 81.018 | 301 | 0.4 % | ||
| 27 | Pesaro e Urbino provincia | Le Marche | hills/ sea | 297 | 124 | 46 | 38 | 158 | 53 | 22 | 100 | 262.636 | 960 | 0.4 % |
| Fratte Rosa | € | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 918 | 25 | 2.7 % | ||
| Pergola | € | 26 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6.029 | 86 | 1.4 % | ||
| Terre Roveresche | € | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5.206 | 55 | 1.1 % | ||
| 28 | Macerata provincia | Le Marche | hills/ sea | 120 | 412 | 61 | 17 | 86 | 39 | 19 | 104 | 273.168 | 981 | 0.4 % |
| Gualdo | € | 5 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 748 | 45 | 6.0 % | ||
| Sant'Angelo in Pontano | € | 1 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1.338 | 48 | 3.6 % | ||
| San Ginesio | € | 6 | 61 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3.207 | 90 | 2.8 % | ||
| 29 | La Spezia provincia | Liguria | hills/ sea | 69 | 84 | 30 | 24 | 31 | 15 | 11 | 47 | 103.011 | 369 | 0.4 % |
| Sarzana | €€ | 17 | 26 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 21.804 | 112 | 0.5 % | ||
| Castelnuovo Magra | €€ | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8.353 | 38 | 0.5 % | ||
| 30 | Brindisi provincia | Puglia | countryside/ sea | 163 | 486 | 46 | 39 | 27 | 79 | 12 | 63 | 308.905 | 990 | 0.3 % |
| Ostuni | €€€ | 49 | 159 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 17 | 30.421 | 292 | 1.0 % | ||
| Ceglie Messapica | €€ | 16 | 80 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 19.078 | 137 | 0.7 % | ||
| Carovigno | €€ | 14 | 60 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 16.920 | 119 | 0.7 % | ||
The table above shows the ranking of the areas in Italy with the highest percentage of foreign citizens who are resident in the described area. The data of the province capitals have been omitted, because they contain a higher percentage of foreigners who are resident in the cities for work. "Province" is to be intended as the territory of the province excluding the province capital and excluding touristic areas, if considered separately, like lakeside or seaside towns. The data of the lakeside or seaside towns include the data of the municipalities with direct access to the lake or the sea.
The Italian Institute for Statistics ISTAT has no data of the number of foreign property owners in Italy. The table shows only the number of foreign citizens who are effectively resident in Italy.
The table also shows a price indicator for each area. This is to be intended as an indicator of the home prices in € per sqm of habitable floor area.
| symbol | price /m2 |
|---|---|
| € | <1.200 € |
| €€ | 1.200-2.000 € |
| €€€ | 2.000-3.000 € |
| €€€€ | 3.000-4.000 € |
| €€€€€ | >4.000 € |