Sicily, Sardinia or Puglia? Choosing Where to Retire Under Italy's 7% Regime
The three most popular regions for the 7% regime compared: transport, house prices, lifestyle and luxury tourism, why Palermo, Cagliari and Bari do not qualify, and how to choose the town.
Ask a foreign pensioner considering Italy's 7% regime where they are thinking of moving, and the answer is almost always one of three words: Sicily, Sardinia or Puglia. Eight southern regions and dozens of towns in central Italy qualify, but these three dominate the conversation, the property searches and, increasingly, the waiting lists of local builders and English-speaking agents.
The tax is identical in all three. The life is not. This guide compares them on what will matter every day after the move: how you get in and out, what homes cost, what each region is like to live in, and where the qualifying towns actually are. For the rules of the regime itself, start from our page on the 7% regime for foreign pensioners.
Why These Three Regions
They combine what retirees look for: sea, climate, a recognisable international name, and a stock of attractive small towns. Each also has a growing community of foreign residents, which makes the first year easier. The downside of popularity is real: in the best-known coastal towns, prices have risen, good rentals are scarce in summer, and the “undiscovered” village is increasingly rare.
Since April 2026 the regime is open to towns of up to 30,000 inhabitants, up from 20,000. As our founder, Avv. Marco Mesina, explained in IMI Daily, the reform added 74 towns, 18 of them in Sicily, 18 in Puglia and 7 in Sardinia. The capitals remain out of reach: Palermo has around 630,000 inhabitants, Bari over 300,000 and Cagliari around 150,000. You can live in a qualifying town nearby and use the city for hospitals, airports and culture, which is what most of our clients do.
Getting In and Out: Transport Compared
For retirees, transport is not about holidays; it is about how easily children and grandchildren can visit, how quickly you reach a major hospital, and how often you will fly home. On this measure, Puglia wins clearly. It is on the mainland, connected to the rest of Italy by motorway and by high-speed trains from Bari to Rome and to Milan, and its two airports, Bari and Brindisi, have a dense network of European routes.
Sicily is a large island with four commercial airports. Catania is the busiest airport in southern Italy, with connections across Europe; Palermo is close behind. Within the island, distances are long and rail is slow, so most residents drive. There is still no bridge to the mainland: crossing to Calabria means a ferry.
Sardinia is the most isolated of the three. Its airports at Cagliari, Olbia and Alghero work well in summer, but winter schedules thin out considerably, and many routes become seasonal. Ferries link it to Genoa, Livorno and Civitavecchia. Inside the island there are no motorways in the usual sense, and the trunk road between Cagliari and Sassari is the backbone. For a couple who travel often, or who expect frequent family visits from abroad, this matters more than any sea view.
What Homes Cost
According to idealista, average asking prices for homes in Sicily were about €1,100 per square metre in September 2026, around half the national average of roughly €2,000. In October 2026 they were about €2,150 per square metre in Sardinia, slightly above the national average, and higher still in the province of Sassari, which includes the Costa Smeralda. Puglia sits between the two on average, but its most sought-after areas, the Valle d’Itria with its trulli, the coast around Polignano and Monopoli, and parts of Salento, have become expensive.
In our experience, Sicily offers the most house for the money: a restored townhouse in a historic centre or a villa near the sea can cost a fraction of an equivalent property in Sardinia or in the best-known parts of Puglia. Sardinia and Puglia already have a long tradition of tourism, including luxury tourism, which supports prices and rental demand but also means paying for the name. The cost of living beyond housing is broadly similar across the three and lower than in the north.
Sicily: The Most for Your Money
Sicily is a country in itself: Greek temples, baroque towns, Mount Etna, two large cities and a food culture unmatched anywhere in Italy. It is the cheapest of the three for property and offers year-round life, because its towns are real communities rather than resorts. Popular qualifying areas include the baroque south-east around Noto and Scicli, the north coast around Cefalù, and the hills behind Taormina. The trade-offs are infrastructure, bureaucracy that can be slow, and summer heat that is becoming more intense. Our guide to Sicily goes deeper into living by the sea there.
Sardinia: Nature, Space and a Slower Rhythm
Sardinia offers some of the cleanest sea in Europe, a wild interior and a strong local identity. It is quieter than Sicily and more seasonal: many coastal towns are lively from June to September and very calm in winter. The north-east, around the Costa Smeralda, is one of the most exclusive holiday areas in the Mediterranean, with prices to match; the south and west are more affordable and more authentic. Qualifying towns include La Maddalena, Castelsardo, Bosa and Carloforte. For retirees who want space and nature and do not need frequent travel, it is hard to beat. See our guide to living in Sardinia for the full picture, including the winter.
Puglia: Connected and Lively
Puglia combines a long coastline with olive groves, masserie and white towns, and it is the easiest of the three to reach and to leave. That makes it the favourite of retirees whose families live in northern Europe or who plan to travel. Qualifying towns include Polignano a Mare, Locorotondo, Alberobello, Otranto and Gallipoli, though several of the best-known are now expensive and busy in summer. Inland Salento and the countryside around the Murge offer better value. Our guide to Puglia covers towns and prices in detail.
Finding the Right Town
About 2,500 towns qualify across the eligible regions and the central Italian earthquake areas. Rather than starting from a list, start from your priorities: distance from an airport, a hospital within 30–40 minutes, a pharmacy and shops on foot, and a community that lives there in winter. Then check which towns qualify. Our guide explaining which towns qualify sets out the rules, and an interactive map of the 7% towns, maintained by our team on italy7percenttax.com, lets you search all of them by region and population.
Many retirees find that a small town is a different kind of dream from the one they imagined; it is worth renting for a season before buying, and working with someone who knows the local market.
What Stays the Same Everywhere
The tax rules do not change with the region. In all three you pay 7% on your foreign income, including pensions, investment income and foreign rents, for ten tax years, provided you were not resident in Italy in the previous five years and move to a qualifying town. Italian-source income is taxed normally. The administrative path is also the same: non-EU citizens usually come on an elective residence visa, then register as a resident in the chosen town, then elect the regime in the first tax return. American retirees face an extra layer, which we explain separately.
Our View
There is no best region in the abstract. If you want value and culture, Sicily is hard to beat. If you want nature and quiet and travel little, Sardinia. If you want connections and frequent family visits, Puglia. Choose the region for the life you will live in February, not the holiday you had in August; the 7% follows you wherever you qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Palermo, Cagliari or Bari qualify for the 7% regime?
No. All three are far above the population limit of 30,000 inhabitants. You can live in a qualifying town nearby and use the city for services.
Which region is best for the 7% regime: Sicily, Sardinia or Puglia?
The tax is the same in all three. Puglia is the best connected, Sicily has the lowest property prices, and Sardinia offers the most nature and quiet but is the most isolated.
Where are homes cheapest among the three?
Sicily, with average asking prices of about 1,100 euro per square metre in 2026, around half the national average. Sardinia is the most expensive of the three.
Is Sardinia well connected in winter?
Less than in summer. Many flights from Cagliari, Olbia and Alghero are seasonal, and travel to the mainland relies on fewer routes and ferries.
How many towns qualify for the 7% regime?
About 2,500, across eight southern regions and the central Italian earthquake areas, after the population limit was raised to 30,000 in 2026.
Can I live in a qualifying town and spend time elsewhere?
You must genuinely live in the qualifying town and be tax resident in Italy. Travel is fine, but the town must be your real home.
Avv. Marco Mesina
Founder, Move to Dolce Vita · Avvocato, Milan Bar (Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano)
Marco is an Italian tax lawyer who advises individuals and families relocating to Italy on tax regimes, residency, citizenship, real estate and succession planning. Before founding Move to Dolce Vita he worked at Watson Farley & Williams, Withers and Deloitte in Milan.
- Milan Bar
- Citywealth Top 50 Italian Advisors 2025 & 2026
- Profiled by Forbes (2024)
- English · Italian · Spanish
