Italy's Public Asset Sales: A Triple Loss for Citizens

When state-owned enterprises sell public real estate to cover deficits, citizens lose three times: first through tax-funded subsidies to those enterprises, second through the loss of a public asset, and third through foregone future benefits from smarter use. The author argues that selling underperforming assets without a strategic vision deprives Italy of opportunities to transform disused properties into territorial assets. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) manages three investment funds—Fondo Investimenti per l'Abitare (social housing), Fondo Investimenti per la Valorizzazione (valorization), and Fondo Investimenti per il Turismo (tourism)—but the mechanism remains the same: funds buy public properties, often from municipalities in deficit, and sell them to the highest bidder, sometimes via private negotiation under Article 11-quinquies of Decree 203/2005. This law allows the State Property Agency to sell non-residential assets through private treaty, overriding government use, existing concessions, and third-party preemption rights. The author criticizes the binary logic: either CDP buys valuable assets in prime locations like Florence and Milan, or leftover properties are given free to associations. Instead, a strategy maximizing public benefit through revenue-generating uses and private financing could turn losses into gains. The piece calls for the state to act as a state and private as private, not the current confusion.