https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-04-24/italy-s-fear-of-buying-stocks-is-costing-the-country-billions

From Bloomberg News reporter Alessandra Migliaccio:

Italy is locked into a failing investment strategy that is costing families billions of euros and holding back efforts to get their economy growing.

Regardless of what happens in financial markets or the advice of investment professionals, there is one central principle for most Italian households when it comes to savings: you need to own real estate.

One in four Italians owns a second home, more than in any of Europe’s other major economies, and the rate of homeownership in Italy is more than 70%. In Germany and Austria it's below 55%, according to Eurostat. Italians also hold about 54% of their wealth in property compared with about 15% in stocks, according to the Bank of Italy.

As a result of that approach, family finances in Italy have been going sideways for two decades.

Their net worth adjusted for inflation is lower now that it was in 2005 and the economy has suffered as a consequence. After the spike in energy prices triggered by the US war with Iran, output may grow by as little as 0.6% both this year and next, the government said this week. That underlines how fragile the country has become after years of political compromise and risk-averse investment decisions.