The unknown Italian cities

The paper suggests that public discourse – and the collective learning processes ¬– on the Italian cities have been locked into questions – basically, management of property rights on land and real estate – that as a matter of fact are irrelevant to the understanding of cities’ development trajectories. These questions have been regarded as central by the political-administrative elites, and they have shaped the policy discourse on the Italian urban system. In Italy the policy discourse on cities continues to revolve around questions of scant significance as to the threat posed to cities’ long-term development performances by the current phase of European capitalism.