Italy is home to the highest number of urban vineyards in the world

While the city of Prague leads at the European level, Italy holds the record as the country with the highest number of urban vineyards worldwide. Outside municipal borders, there are 157 in 35 countries. Europe accounts for 108 of these, covering a total area of over 600 hectares. Prague has 16 vineyards and Italy 32, spread across fifteen different cities, with Venice leading the way (7 vineyards), followed by Rome (4) and Bolzano (3 urban vineyards), then other major cities such as Naples, Palermo, Catania, Milan, Bergamo, and Turin, which is home to the Vigna della Regina (pictured), a charming vineyard that produces the only DOC wine from urban vineyards in Italy, the Freisa di Chieri Superiore.

The 15th edition of the National Day of Wine and Oil Culture, promoted on 23 May by the Italian Sommelier Association in Rome, provided an opportunity to share this intriguing count, included in the World Urban Vineyards Atlas report curated by the Urban Vineyards Association. The choice of topic serves a noble purpose: “Highlighting the link between urban vineyards and city regeneration,” explained AIS president Sandro Camilli, “encourages new generations to understand the deep bond between the rural and metropolitan worlds.”

“Vineyards are a growing trend,” noted Ernesto Di Renzo, professor of the Anthropology of Taste and the Anthropology of Cultural and Gastronomic Heritage at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. “They should be considered not only from the perspective of urban regeneration—being particularly effective at capturing carbon dioxide—but also as spaces that offer many other opportunities.”