Messina is one of the few Italian provinces to have gained several positions, thirteen, in reference to the previous year. Nothing to boast about or be too proud of, given that there is talk of a leap from 103rd place to 90th, but it is a positive sign, in contrast to the more or less disastrous performances of most of the cities and provinces of Calabria and Sicily, more generally of the South. A significant growth, that shown by the capital of the Strait and by the metropolitan area in the last two years (in 2023 Messina was third from last, at 105th place out of 107), which could have allowed it to reach much more prestigious areas of the national ranking, if there had not been that starting gap, which effectively pins almost all southern urban areas to the last places. The most comforting signs come from the Tourism and Culture sectors, an overall improvement concerns the city and provincial economic fabric, despite a framework that remains unsatisfactory, in particular with regards to income, personal services and, alas, the infrastructure sector, the shortcomings of which continue to penalize the city and its province.
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