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Alessandro Palombo

Mar 14

I'm Italian. I wrote about 7 hidden cities in Italy. Since then, one thought has been haunting me. I missed one.

A city my trusted CLO is from. We've worked together for over a decade. In all that time, I don't think he's ever used a word more than strictly necessary. Centered, sober, elegantly precise.

The opposite of what you naturally associate to Italian cities.

Turin.

This is why it's the most underrated big city in Italy

🧵

First, the historical context.

Turin was Italy's first capital from 1861 to 1865. Before Rome. Before Florence. The House of Savoy built it like a European capital, not an Italian town.

Grand boulevards. Baroque palaces. 18km of arcaded porticos. The Alps visible from your window on a clear day.

As a Roman, I felt it every time I went there. People speak quietly. Restaurants don't shout at you from the street. Nobody's performing.

Everything is measured.

What most people don't know: Turin invented more of what we call Italian culture than almost anywhere else.

Vermouth, 1786. The whole aperitivo tradition.

Gianduja, which became Nutella when Napoleonic blockades forced chocolatiers to mix cocoa with Piedmont hazelnuts. Pietro Ferrero made it spreadable in 1946.

The Slow Food movement. The first Eataly, opened in a former vermouth factory in 2007.

The Egyptian Museum here is the second largest after Cairo. The Mole Antonelliana houses the National Cinema Museum.

The Royal Palace complex is UNESCO World Heritage.

Read 9 tweets

Alessandro Palombo

@thealepalombo

Mar 11

I'm Italian. I just got back from Rome.

Over dinner, old friends and I started arguing about the same thing we always argue about: which cities in Italy are genuinely incredible but nobody ever talks about?

We went back and forth for hours. By the end of the night, we had a list.

7 hidden cities that most people, including most Italians, will never think to visit, let alone move to.

No crowds. No tourist markup. Insane quality of life.

Thread 🧵

Italy has 7,904 municipalities. Tourists visit maybe 15.

These aren't "cheap places to test it out." They're cities where wealthy Italians live their best lives, completely off the radar.

For each one, I broke down property prices, nearest airport, population, who it's actually for, and the honest downsides you should be aware of.

7 cities I'd personally relocate to. Data on every single one:

1/ TRIESTE, The Central European Hybrid

This isn't a typical Italian city. It's Vienna by the sea.

Habsburg architecture, historic literary cafés (Joyce wrote Ulysses here), and a vibe that's half Austrian, half Mediterranean.

I have a close friend from the area. One thing that always struck me: people in Trieste are always impeccably dressed. There's an elegance there you don't find in other Italian cities. It's the Viennese influence.

Understated, refined.

Population: 198,000. This is a REAL city, not a village.

€2,558/sqm (+9.3% YoY). €200-300K buys 80-120 sqm.

Read 27 tweets

Alessandro Palombo

@thealepalombo

Feb 11

I analyzed every coastal town in Italy on a €1M budget.

Taxes. Airports. What €1M actually buys you in each location.

I cross-checked every detail with two friends on the ground for accuracy and hidden alphas.

10 towns. The definitive guide for FIRE and wealthy nomads eyeing Italy.

Thread 🧵

First, why €1M changes the game.

At €200-300K, you optimize for value. Hidden gems. Undiscovered towns.

At €1M, the game changes completely: you unlock some of Italy's most iconic coastal locations.

And here's what nobody tells you: most of them STILL qualify for the 7% flat tax for retirees.

8 of my 10 picks do.

Quick recap for new readers:

Italy offers a 7% flat tax for 10 years on ALL foreign income for retirees who move to a town under 20K people in southern Italy.

Qualifying regions: Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise.

On €200K/yr of foreign income → €14,000 total tax. For 10 years.

Plus: exemption from wealth taxes on foreign assets for the full duration.

Read 28 tweets

Alessandro Palombo

@thealepalombo

Feb 8

I've analyzed every affordable, strategically located coastal town in Italy for a €200-300K budget.

Taxes, airports, cost of living, remote work infrastructure. I've called a couple of friends to confirm the data.

10 towns. The definitive guide for FIRE and Digital Nomads in Italy.

Thread 🧵

First, why Italy in 2026?

Three reasons:

• 7% flat tax for 10 years on ALL foreign income for retirees in small towns (pensions, dividends, capital gains), 50% tax exemption for remote workers

• Property at half the price of Portugal and Croatia

• Ryanair is opening bases and routes across the South at record pace

Italy is becoming THE game.

The real tax advantage for FIRE, explained simply:

Italy: 7% flat tax for 10 yrs (town under 20K people, southern region)

Greece: 7% for 15 yrs, but pricier property

Spain: no special retiree regime (standard progressive tax rates apply)

Portugal: NHR closed. Now progressive taxation up to 48% for pensioners.

Croatia: no special retiree regime

On €100K/yr of foreign income, Italy = €7,000 total tax. That's it.

Read 22 tweets

Alessandro Palombo

@thealepalombo

Feb 6

This is Puglia, Italy.

7% flat tax for retirees (small towns only). 50% income exemption for workers. Flat-tax for HNW.

Magical region. Mediterranean coast. Authentic culture.

But most foreigners choose the wrong town and overpay by 30-40%.

I've lived across 5 continents and visited every corner of Puglia.

Here are the 7 best places - and the traps to avoid 🧵

First, LECCE - "The Florence of the South"

The obvious choice (that's actually right).

Lecce is where serious expats land when they've done their homework.

It's a proper city (95k people) with everything functional - hospitals,
universities, year-round economy not dependent on tourists.

The baroque center is legitimately stunning, not Disney-fied.

Here's what nobody tells you about Lecce...

It's become the digital nomad/remote worker hub of southern Italy.

Fast internet, coworking spaces, actually decent coffee culture.

The university (35k students) keeps it young and dynamic.

Real Italian life happens here because locals actually live and work downtown, not just serve Aperol Spritz to foreigners.

I've a personal story to share.

Read 21 tweets

Alessandro Palombo

@thealepalombo

Dec 16, 2025

This is Lugano:

- 0% capital gains tax
- 1 hour from Milan
- Swiss lifestyle with palm trees

This combination shouldn't exist. But it does.

Here’s why Switzerland's best-kept secret should be on your radar:

Lugano is a paradox. And most miss it completely.

It sits in Ticino, Switzerland's Italian-speaking canton.

Officially it’s Switzerland – but it doesn't feel like Switzerland. Mediterranean climate, palm trees by the lake, Italian spoken everywhere. Swiss quality underneath, but none of the coldness.

And here's what's interesting…

Swiss cantons are basically independent states with their own constitutions.

Ticino happens to be the one that speaks Italian and feels Mediterranean.

Milan is just an hour away by train. Lake Como is right next door.

You get access to Italian energy when you want it, and Swiss calm when you don't.

That setup creates something very unique.

Read 18 tweets

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