Mantua has been named Italy’s greenest city in the latest Ecosistema Urbano report from environmental organisation Legambiente. It scored 81.29 out of 100, the only one of more than 100 cities assessed to exceed 80 points. Trento placed second with 76.53, followed by Bolzano with 75.47.

The Lombardy city, with just over 50,000 residents, has repeatedly ranked among Italy’s leading urban performers. It came second last year, seventh two years ago and second in the 2023 edition.

Its result stands out because Mantua lies in the Po Valley, a region known for poor air quality. Other cities in the area also placed highly: Cremona came fourth, Reggio Emilia fifth and Parma seventh. Barbara Meggetto, president of Legambiente Lombardia, said strong results in other categories help compensate for air pollution, the weakest indicator for Mantua and its regional peers.

The report assesses 20 indicators across six categories: mobility, air quality, waste management, water, the urban environment and energy. Mobility accounts for 21% of the score, air quality for 19%, waste, water and the urban environment for 18% each, and energy for 6%.

Among Mantua’s strengths are an extensive limited-traffic zone, covering 1,696 square metres per 100 residents, and separate waste collection above 83%. The city also has more than 33 metres of cycle lanes per 100 residents, photovoltaic systems on public buildings with 19.9 kilowatts of capacity per 1,000 homes, and 93 trees per 100 residents, according to Meggetto.

Air quality remains a challenge. Mantua’s PM10 concentration is 27 micrograms per cubic metre, close to Milan’s 28. Meggetto said local measures such as restricted-traffic zones, public transport and more efficient heating can help, but pollution across the Po Valley is also linked to the concentration of industry and livestock farming. The number of days when ozone exceeded permitted limits fell from 39 in the previous report to 25 this year.

Legambiente attributes Mantua’s progress to a decade of work by successive local administrations to reduce traffic in the historic centre, as well as changes in industrial policy. The city hosted a large petrochemical plant from 1957 to 1989, which caused heavy-metal pollution that affected its three lakes, fed by the River Mincio. Remediation work is now under way.

Sources: La Repubblica.