Northern Italian cities are far more child-friendly than southern Italian ones, according to a report issued by the country's leading environmental associations, Legambiente.
The northern Italian cities of Turin, Florence, and Ravenna took the top slots in the ranking, as did Rome.
Major southern Italian cities like Trapani, Catanzaro and Ragusa were outdistanced.
Legambiente polled local administrations across Italy directly to prepare the report, asking them to describe the civic participation and cultural initiatives offered to residents under the age of 14.
While some cities encouraged youth to meet the mayor, form local councils, and take part in films festivals and special events, many others organised few initiatives or structures for young people.
"Many adults don't realize that children are an extraordinary resource," the Legambiente report noted, stressing that many administrations, especially in southern Italy, consider young people second-class citizens.
In its tenth year of gathering data on youth initiatives across Italy, Legambiente criticised southern Italy for having "once again failed" to implement child-friendly policies.
"The slight improvement seen in 2005 has already come to a grinding halt," the report said.
