In recent years we have witnessed a progressive transformation of the urban face, driven by the adoption of 'smart city' logic in the agendas of many local administrations. According to the most recent report of the Smart City Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, in 2024 the market for smart city solutions exceeded the fateful billion euro threshold, with a growth of +5% compared to the previous year. This result, important as it is, places Italy below the European average and finds comfort in two indicators among many: around 42% of the Belpaese municipalities have activated at least one 'smart' project in the last twelve months, while 91% declare their intention to undertake similar initiatives by the end of 2026.
As far as investments are concerned, these are concentrated mainly in two areas, on the one hand public lighting (which accounts for around 240 million euros, about 23% of the total expenditure allocated to city digitisation projects) and on the other smart mobility (worth around 215 million, more or less 20% of the total). Other noteworthy initiatives also relate to security/surveillance, renewable energy communities (RECs), smart waste management, energy efficiency and 'smart' services for citizens.
Finally, one last particularly interesting statistic captures the level of adoption of artificial intelligence: today, only 4% of Italian municipalities have launched projects based on algorithm technologies, although a further 35% declare their intention to do so within the next two years.
The full digital maturity of Italian cities therefore remains a goal in the making and reflects an aspect that should not be underestimated: the evolution towards the broader concept of the term "smart city" is not just a technological or infrastructural issue due to the fact that the systemic and large-scale use of data, the ability to govern them and translate them into concrete decisions become central elements.
While the digital divide, especially in the most fragile areas or in small municipalities, remains an unresolved problem, several public administrations are now committed to experimenting with models and solutions such as "digital twins" and "Smart Control Rooms" with the aim of managing energy, mobility, the environment and services in an integrated manner, nurturing the principle of true urban resilience. At the same time, the need for a cultural and organisational evolution is strongly emerging, which goes beyond the installation of sensors or digital platforms and contemplates the development of appropriate skills, solid governance structures and - no less important - a long-term strategic vision. The 'smart city' paradigm, in short, is no longer considered something futuristic, but rather a lever to make PA more efficient, transparent and closer to citizens and businesses.
Citizy: the open platform that makes PA smarter
In this framework of urban and digital transformation, the Citizy proposal stands out, the SaaS services marketplace developed by Almaviva and designed to transform the management of an authority into an integrated ecosystem, efficient and oriented to the needs of the community and citizens. Presented at the last ANCI assembly in Bologna, this marketplace is proposed as a concrete response to the needs of Public Administration (from small municipalities to large metropolitan areas) by focusing on data from different urban areas, which are processed in real time to support advanced analyses and strategic decisions, while promoting secure information sharing and coordinated management of territorial policies. The modular and scalable nature of the solution allows the integration of services, systems of other authorities and external platforms, increasing the opportunities to respond quickly and effectively to the demands of citizens and businesses.
From a technological point of view, Citizy is part of Almaviva's GIOTTO Digital Ecosystem and is based on a shared data model that guarantees, on the one hand, interoperability between services and, on the other, the analysis of heterogeneous data under a context of interest (e.g. impact of pollution on citizens' health). Its multi-tenant architecture, in particular, enables the unified management of services and the co-existence of different modules without conflict, facilitating the integration of third-party solutions, even those already in use by Administrations. Its value, however, does not end with the technological component, but extends to the concept of a driver of civic participation, thanks to the Almaviva Group's decade of experience in digitising Italian cities. The platform, in this sense, provides citizen engagement, artificial intelligence and augmented reality tools to help users report critical issues, propose solutions and actively contribute to the improvement of public services. The ultimate goal is clear: to build more connected, sustainable and inclusive cities and communities.
From urban mobility to local welfare
Citizy's functional scope encompasses many areas fundamental to the quality of urban life and administrative efficiency. One of the pillars of the platform is mobility, to which is dedicated a complete suite of digital tools for managing traffic and vehicle flows, parking, fines and penalties, the issuing of vehicle passes and passes for persons with disabilities, authorisations for the occupation of public land, and more. In the environment and energy field, on the other hand, the platform provides administrators with solutions and technologies for environmental monitoring, energy consumption control (thanks to integration with BEMS and BIM systems), urban green maintenance and waste reduction, creating the conditions for predictive planning based on environmental data and indicators.
An additional prerogative of Citizy is the ability to digitise and simplify procedures related to building and heritage practices, i.e. authorisation titles, management of concessions and urban planning, census and valorisation of public assets, and more. Finally, the platform's scope of intervention also extends to the world of culture and sport and local welfare. In the first case, Citizy provides tools for the digital management of cultural events, events, facilities and public spaces, ranging from online booking of facilities and calendar management to analytics on participation flows. In the second, it makes it possible to digitise and customise complex procedures and to strengthen coordination between offices, authorities and associations in the field of social welfare and education services and economic support inclusion policies.
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Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: Il Sole 24 Ore, 12.12.2025
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