The top 10 neighbourhoods people are searching for when renting a home in Italy include many from outside the big cities. In the first quarter of 2025, the three most in-demand rental areas are districts in Padua, Brescia, and Guidonia Montecelio (in the province of Rome).
Rome is also the only major city to make it into the top 10. This comes from a report by idealista/data, which looked at how much demand there is compared to supply across Italy’s rental market.
Top 10 most sought-after neighbourhoods to rent a home in Italy
The idealista/data report was created using the relative demand index, an indicator that summarises the pressure of demand on supply in each area of Italy for the rental housing market. This indicator is based on the number of contacts (email enquiries and shares) received per listing.
As previously mentioned, the top spots for the most sought-after neighbourhoods to rent a home in Italy in the first quarter of 2025 do not include any districts from the country’s main property markets. Specifically, the highest position is held by Camin in Padua, with a relative demand index of 126. Following are Fornaci-Chiesanuova-Villaggio Sereno in Brescia (96), and both Setteville in Guidonia Montecelio (near Rome) and the centre of Scandicci (near Florence), each with a relative demand index of 91.
As mentioned, the top spot goes to the district of Camin in Padua, located somewhat outside the city centre — likely a sign of saturation in the supply of student accommodation. The leading positions are rounded out by other neighbourhoods in towns such as Brescia, Guidonia Montecelio, and Scandicci. The common thread here is their proximity to three of Italy’s major cities: Milan, Rome, and Florence, respectively.
This point suggests a further observation, given that these are three of the most expensive cities in Italy in terms of average monthly rents (Milan is the priciest city with an average of €23.6 per square metre, followed by Florence at €21.7 per square metre, while Rome ranks fourth, behind Venice, with an average rent of €18.7 per square metre). It’s reasonable to assume that, faced with these prohibitive city prices, rental searches are now moving beyond the city outskirts and into the surrounding provinces.
Supporting this, the top 10 list also includes the district of San Fruttuoso in Monza (relative demand index of 57) and Villaggio degli Sposi-Grumello del Piano in Bergamo (52), two more towns on Milan’s doorstep (incidentally, Monza is set to benefit from an extension of the M5 metro line). Among the most sought-after neighbourhoods, there are also three in Rome: Casilino-Centocelle (76), East Rome-Autostrade (51), and Garbatella-Ostiense (48). Completing the top 10, in fourth place, is Borgo Roma-Cadidavid in Verona (77).
The situation across the rest of Italy
To find the first Milanese neighbourhood in the rankings, you have to scroll all the way down to 191st place, where Baggio appears with a relative demand index of 26, further proof of how city rents are now perceived as prohibitive. Meanwhile, the highest-ranking district in Florence is Rifredi (39).
In Bologna, the most in-demand rental area is Navile-Corticella (40). In Venice, the district attracting the most interest is Lido-Malamocco-Pellestrina (19). Moving south, in Bari the most sought-after neighbourhood is Marconi-San Girolamo-Fesca, while in Naples it’s Fuorigrotta-Bagnoli (both with a relative demand index of 15). The same score is recorded for Cruillas-Resuttana-San Lorenzo in Palermo.
The most expensive neighbourhoods to rent in Italy
Turning to rental prices, the priciest properties are found near the most exclusive tourist locations, with a strong presence from Versilia and Sardinia. Due to limited supply, renting a home in the Area Santa Teresina district of Arzachena costs €9,000 a month (although it has a relative demand index of just 2).
Also out of reach for most is the Rocchette-Roccamare-Riva del Sole district in Castiglione della Pescaia (€6,575 per square metre) and the centre of Forte dei Marmi (with an average rent of €6,436 per month). The first city district to appear in this particular ranking is Milan’s city centre, with an average monthly rent of €3,399.
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