Italian courts issued 18.780 citizenship rulings in the first quarter of 2026. In the last quarter of 2025, there were 7.809 decisions. The increase was approximately 140,5%.
The increase was driven primarily by courts with a large absolute volume of decisions. Venice leads with 4.770 sentences. which represents approximately 25,4% of the total.
Next in line are Brescia, with 2.379, and Bologna, with 1.808 decisions during the period.
The data comes from the blog Processo Italiano, which monitors and mines information from ongoing cases in the country's courts.
Where was there the greatest growth in volume?
In absolute numbers, the biggest increase occurred in Venice. The court went from 1.289 decisions to 4.770, an increase of 3.481 rulings (+270,13%).
Brescia comes in second place in terms of volume. There were 1.493 more decisions compared to the previous quarter.
Bologna also experienced significant growth. The number increased by 1.361 sentences.
Other highlights include Genoa, with an increase of 816 decisions, and Napoli, with an increase of 712.
Where growth was most rapid.
When the criterion is percentage, Genova leads. The court jumped from 50 to 866 decisions, a growth of 1.632%.
Trieste comes next, with an increase of 468%. Bologna It registered an increase of 304%, while Venezia grew by 270%.
Palermo also appears among the largest proportional advances, with growth of 296%.
Courts experiencing decline or stability
Not all courts followed the upward trend.
Reggio di Calabria saw a 50% drop. Potenza fell 41%. Catanzaro It showed a reduction of 9,6%.
Catania maintained stability, with the same number of decisions in both periods.
The engine of change: extra money
The increase in productivity is linked to the PNRR, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The Italian government program, funded with European resources, has set targets for reducing the backlog of cases. In return, there are financial incentives.
To expedite the trials, judges from other courts were reassigned to work on the citizenship cases.
See below for the performance of the courts:
| Court | 2025 | 2026 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancona | 312 | 295 | -5,45% |
| Bari | 140 | 185 | 32,14% |
| Bologna | 447 | 1808 | 304,47% |
| Brescia | 886 | 2379 | 168,51% |
| Cagliari | 32 | 35 | 9,38% |
| Caltanissetta | 54 | 86 | 59,26% |
| Campobasso | 108 | 112 | 3,70% |
| Catanzaro | 579 | 523 | -9,67% |
| Catania | 94 | 94 | 0,00% |
| Florence | 301 | 859 | 185,38% |
| Genoa | 50 | 866 | 1632,00% |
| L'Aquila | 136 | 396 | 191,18% |
| Lecce | 65 | 99 | 52,31% |
| Messina | 68 | 85 | 25,00% |
| Milan | 161 | 177 | 9,94% |
| Naples | 364 | 1076 | 195,60% |
| Palermo | 128 | 507 | 296,09% |
| Perugia | 42 | 116 | 176,19% |
| Potenza | 543 | 320 | -41,07% |
| Reggio Calabria | 54 | 27 | -50,00% |
| Rome | 313 | 350 | 11,82% |
| Salerno | 301 | 392 | 30,23% |
| Turin | 264 | 600 | 127,27% |
| Trento | 21 | 62 | 195,24% |
| Trieste | 97 | 551 | 468,04% |
| Venice | 1289 | 4770 | 270,13% |
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