Behind the overall numbers of the Pnrr – 194.4 billion euros, 224 measures, 575 goals to be achieved – lies a mosaic of twenty different stories, as many as the Italian regions.
Territorial disparities between North and South
The speed of implementation and conclusion of the projects in Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardy, Friuli and Emilia Romagna is counterbalanced by the slowness of many regions in the South but also in Liguria, which – despite being in the North – is absolutely the one where the final word is still unknown for almost 90% of the financing. The photograph emerges from the new map outlined in the Pnrr monitoring dossier of the Chamber and Senate Studies Service, drawn up based on the ReGiS database updated on July 1st. Of the total 194 billion of the Pnrr, the territorialized share – that is, assigned to projects attributable to a specific region or province – amounts to 173.3 billion euros, distributed over 672,549 projects registered (the number rises to 677,398 if the projects that cover multiple regions are counted separately). Added to these are 17.3 billion euros earmarked for “national” interventions, which cannot be traced back to a specific territory. At a national level, 23.7% of resources are associated with “completed” projects, which rises to 26.2% if non-regional projects are excluded. However, the average hides enormous differences, which do not always coincide perfectly with the traditional North-South division.
The case of Liguria
The most striking case is in fact that of Liguria, which records the lowest performance ever, equal to 10.2% of completed projects (out of 5.8 billion). However, the data must be read carefully: the percentage used by the dossier does not indicate the number of projects physically completed out of the total projects of a Region, but the share of funding associated with the projects, distinguishing between those completed and those still in progress. In other words, a 100 million euro project weighs on the ranking much more than a 100 thousand euro intervention. This is anything but a secondary difference, especially in regions, such as Liguria, where there are large infrastructure works that can concentrate a significant share of resources and have longer construction times.
The southern regions are mostly in the last positions
Hence the ranking where the Southern regions still occupy most of the last positions. In fact, the percentages of Calabria also stand out with 15.6% of completed projects (out of 6.2 billion), Molise (15.9% out of 1.7 billion), Campania (16.8% out of 15 billion), Sicily (16.7% out of 12.4 billion) and then Lazio (17.3% out of 13.3 billion). On the opposite side there are Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (46.4% of projects completed out of 2.9 billion), Lombardy (40.4% out of 21.9 billion, the Region with the highest financing), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (37.2% out of 2.9 billion), and Emilia-Romagna (36% out of 11.4 billion). This is followed by Piedmont (29.4%), Tuscany (29%) and Marche (28.3%). Looking specifically at the eight regions of the South, the picture is far from uniform. If Calabria, Molise, Campania, Sicily and Puglia are all below 17% of completed projects, Sardinia (21.9% out of 4.9 billion), Basilicata (21%) and Abruzzo (27.6%) show percentages closer to the national average.
In Calabria Vibo does better than Cosenza and Catanzaro
Even at the provincial level, within the southern regions themselves, the differences are marked: in Calabria, Vibo Valentia (26%) does better than Cosenza and Catanzaro (both around 17.7-17.9%); in Sicily, Caltanissetta (36.8%) and Ragusa (29.3%) double Catania (16%); in Puglia, Lecce (24.9%) clearly surpasses Taranto (18%); in Campania, in addition to the aforementioned Avellino-Naples gap, Caserta (24.4%) also does better than the regional capital. Deviations which indicate that spending capacity depends not only on the regional dimension but also on the administrative structure and the type of implementing bodies involved in each province.
Here is a table that summarizes the progress of the Pnrr projects concluded Region by Region, calculated on the basis of the total funding obtained. We start from Liguria, well below the national average, to reach Trentino, which almost doubles the Italian average. Lombardy, the region that has the greatest resources available.
| Region Completed In progress Resources
| ——————————– | ——– | ————–
| Liguria 10.2% | 89.8% | 5.77 billion
| Calabria 15.6% | 84.4% | 6.22 billion
| Molise 15.9% | 84.1% | 1.71 billion
| Sicily 16.7% | 83.3% | 12.36 billion
| Campania 16.8% | 83.2% | 14.99 billion
| Lazio 17.3% | 82.6% | 13.28 billion
| Puglia 17.4% | 82.6% | 10.73 billion
| Valle d’Aosta 18.4% | 81.6% | 0.58 billion
| Basilicata 21.0% | 78.9% | 2.38 billion
| Sardinia 21.9% | 78.1% | 4.90 billion
| Umbria 24.9% | 75.1% | 2.57 billion
| Abruzzo 27.6% | 72.4% | 3.70 billion
| Marche 28.3% | 71.7% | 4.00 billion
| Tuscany 29.0% | 71.0% | 7.84 billion
| Piedmont 29.4% | 70.6% | 11.10 billion
| Veneto 33.0% | 67.0% | 14.72 billion
| Emilia-Romagna 36.0% | 64.0% | 11.38 billion
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia 37.2% | 62.7% | 2.85 billion
| Lombardy 40.4% | 59.5% | 21.90 billion
| Trentino-Alto Adige 46.4% | 53.6% | 2.89 billion
| National scope 1.5% | 98.5% | 17.34 billion