A silent and constant presence: in Catania, 218 homeless people, 78 live on the street. The situation is not better in Messina.

In Catania, 218 people are homeless and 78 live on the street. In Messina, 129 people do not have a roof over their heads, 25 live on the street. This is what emerges from the first phase of the Istat survey on homeless individuals conducted in Turin, Genoa, Milan, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Bari, Reggio Calabria, Palermo, Messina, Catania, Cagliari.

The number of homeless individuals, aged at least 18, recorded on the night of January 26, 2026 in the 14 municipalities of the Metropolitan Area is 10,037 individuals. Among these, 5,563 people (55.4%) were accommodated in night shelters. The remaining 4,474 were counted on the street, in public spaces, or in makeshift accommodations.

Rome has the highest absolute value (2,621 people, of which 1,299 are on the street) - they report - followed by Milan (1,641, of which 601 are on the street), Turin (1,036, of which 372 are on the street), and Naples (1,029, of which 566 are on the street). Reggio Calabria records the lowest presence of homeless individuals (31 people, 14 on the street); followed by Messina (129 people, 25 on the street) and Catania (218 people, 78 on the street).

According to the count, women among the homeless represent a minority: in shelters, they account for 21.4% (1,189). While on the street, it was possible to distinguish gender in about 75% of the counted cases: 12% are women. Young people (aged 18 to 30) represent 15.3% (851 people) of the shelter residents, individuals aged 31 to 60 make up 61.3% (3,413), while those over 60 account for 23.4% (1,299). Among those counted on the street, the proportion of individuals over 60 years old is 10.6% of the cases with recorded age. There is a higher concentration in the age group between 31 and 60 years: 73.2%. The counted homeless individuals correspond to about 0.11% of the resident population of the municipalities considered.

However, it should be noted - the report states - that the homeless collective also includes those not registered in the registry or residents in municipalities different from those where they are found.

In the large Italian cities, the number of homeless people is a silent yet constant presence, a face often invisible among the folds of urban life. From Milano to Rome, passing through Naples and Turin, the train stations, porticoes, suburbs, and even the more central areas tell a reality that intertwines poverty, social fragility, and a lack of structural housing policies.

The issue of homelessness is not just a matter of public order or assistance, but a marker of the social health of cities. Metropolises, symbols of opportunity and growth, also reveal their own fractures: gentrified neighborhoods next to areas of severe hardship, bright shop windows just steps away from makeshift beds.

Telling the stories of the homeless means giving voice to individual stories, restoring dignity to those living on the margins, and questioning the urban development model. Because behind every cardboard laid out on a sidewalk lies a complex human journey that involves institutions, communities, and citizens.