From Genoa to Palermo, the new Italian cities coming to the fair at Mipim in Cannes

Not only Rome and Milan. Bari, Brescia, Catanzaro, Catania, Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Taranto and Turin are also arriving on the Croisette with urban transformation projects that are already structured: industrial areas to be reconverted, waterfronts, public heritage to be enhanced and innovation poles. The objective is not to promote individual properties, but to present investors with city development contexts that are already defined, with operational urban planning tools and public-private partnerships.

This is the proposal that Italia brings to the Mipim Italy Pavilion in Cannes through Ice-Ita Italian Trade Agency, the government agency for the promotion of investments and internationalisation, as part of the Invest in Italy programme. Alongside the initiatives of local administrations, there will also be space for proposals from public agencies, bodies and operators presenting assets and development programmes included in planning frameworks that have already been defined and distributed throughout the country. Also participating for the first time is Inps, with a tourist complex to be redeveloped in Fai della Paganella, Trentino. Altogether, the showcase brings together 15 projects spread over 12 territories. The market context reinforces this strategy. During 2025, investments in commercial real estate in Italia reached €13.5 billion, surpassing the record recorded in 2019. Regional markets accounted for a growing share, totalling €8.7 billion, a sign of a system that is increasingly less focused on prime locations alone.

Among the projects presented, three strands. The first concerns the regeneration of large disused urban areas. In Turin, the Damiano Area, in the former Fiat Officine Grandi Motori complex in the Aurora district, involves more than 91,000 square metres with housing and integrated services. In Milan, the Piazza d'Armi project, presented by Invimit with the municipality, aims to transform the former military area of Baggio into a district with approximately 1,700 homes, 700 of which are affordable rentals. In Rome, the Agenzia del Demanio is proposing a social housing district of 34,000 square metres that can be developed as part of the regeneration of the Tor Vergata state complex, in the eastern quadrant of the city, in a strategic position with respect to the university campus.

In Naples, the City Council and Fs Sistemi Urbani are looking for investors to transform former railway areas into a new integrated urban district of 33,000 square metres, with a functional mix of residential and services, close to the metro lines and with a project that will benefit from the interventions linked to the America's Cup. Genoa puts on the table the concession of a 99-year surface right and free rent for the first 50 years. The private investment will amount to approximately 100 million, with another 19 million in public resources, for the redevelopment of the stadium to reach Uefa standards: a project that will be driven by the presence in Cannes of the mayor Silvia Salis.

The second strand concerns waterfronts and projects related to the blue economy. In Bari, the Costasud project envisages the construction of a linear coastal park covering 6 km on 116 hectares along the city's south-east coast, with investments totalling 86.2 million euro. In Catanzaro, the completion of the port on the Stefano Pugliese waterfront aims to develop 403 berths and new tourist activities through a 52-year concession. In Catania, the transformation of the axis between Piazza Europa and Piazza dei Martiri involves approximately 70,000 square metres and envisages a smart road and new urban infrastructure for an estimated investment of EUR 500 million.