Florence, 18 June 2024 – The city of Florence ranks third among the most expensive regional capitals in Italy. The ranking drawn up certifies this by the National Consumers Union based on May ISTAT inflation data, published yesterday. At the top of the top ten, ex aequo, are Parma and Rimini, with an inflation of 1.6%, which translates into greater additional spending on an annual basis for each family equivalent on average to 435 euros.
Silver medal for Venice (+1.4%, equal to 369 euros) e bronze precisely for Florence which, with +1.4%, records an additional expense of 366 euros per year per average family. It doesn’t get any better if we move on from the city to frame the situation from a broader point of view: at the top of the ranking of the most “expensive” regions, in first place, with an annual inflation of +1.3%, is the Veneto (+324 euros on an annual basis), but immediately afterwards followed by Tuscany, where the growth in prices of 1.1% implies a surge in the average cost of living equal to 272 euros per family. But what determines the price increases?
“By examining the data – he explains Alessandro Valentini, head of the Istat territorial office in the central area – we note that the positioning of Florence and Tuscany at the top of the national rankings is linked to the tourist vocation of the capital city and the region. Tuscany shows a trend figure of 1.1%, compared to a national figure of 0.8%, and is driven by Siena which with +2.2% has the highest increase at a national level among all the capitals of the province. Important numbers also in Lucca with a +1.3%, while in the lowest positions we find Livorno (0.4), Massa (0.6) and Grosseto (0.8)”.
But what affects the increases recorded in Florence compared to the same period last year? “To have a clearer idea – continues Valentini – you can examine the individual entries, which allow us to identify the sectors that drove the increases”. In fact, all the items that are linked in some way to tourism show strong positive signs: accommodation and catering services (+5.9), transport (+3.1), food products and non-alcoholic drinks (+2.9%), alcohol and tobacco (+2.7). Education (+2.2) could also be affected by the many schools for foreigners that have a significant role in the city. On the contrary, things are better for services and products dedicated to residents: clothing and footwear (+0.7), housing, water, electricity, fuels (-7.2 influenced above all by the collapse of fuel prices after last year’s price increases), mobile (0), health services (+0.8), communications (-6.5). Confirming a fact that has been known for some timeIn short, tourism brings wealth to the city, but does not always make life easier for residents.
