Italy welcomes cruise traffic in many ports along its coastlines. Though cruise calls are mainly concentrated in ports such as Civitavecchia, Genoa or Naples, many small ports, which may be less well-known, or which have restricted harbour access, also welcome a modest amount of cruise traffic.

According to a 2022 research report by Risposte Turismo on national traffic data and market trends, Liguria is the first region for passenger traffic, with three of its ports welcoming at least 400,000 passengers in 2022. In Lazio, 99% of cruise ships call at the Civitavecchia cruise port. The report also notes the revamping of the Calabria region and the port of Crotone, welcoming 23,000 passengers with 32 calls during the 2022 season. There are also a number of emerging cruise ports in Italy, such as Siracusa, Taranto and the cited Monfalcone.

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Introducing shoreside electricity capability at ports

In a survey of ports in Italy conducted for Italian Cruise Watch 2021, about 15% of respondents declared that they would offer shoreside electricity in their port by 2023, with most of these ports citing a power of 10 MW. These ports include: Genoa, Savona, La Spezia, Salerno, Piombino, Portoferraio, Messina and Catania.

In April 2022 the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility announced simplification of procedures for approving electrification of the docks, a project financed by the Government with 700 million euros for Italian ports.

Today, Genoa and Savona have systems installed in Rimorchiatori Riuniti Genova docks, ship repairs in Genoa, shipyards in Sestri Ponente and other commercial terminals. Measures to introduce electrification of the docks of the cruise terminal of Savona and of the passenger, cruise and ferry port of Genoa are in progress.

In Italy, more and more ports are acting through new funds provided thanks to the new Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan. Among these ports are Savona, Genoa, La Spezia, Palermo, Catania, Messina, Taranto, Brindisi, Bari, Ravenna, Venice, and Trieste. Among the priorities of the port of La Spezia, in addition to boosting the use of LNG, for the next three years there is construction of a new pier at the first port basin for shoreside electricity. With an investment of 5.5 million euros by the Sea Port Authority, activities are already underway to make the quay operational with approximately 10 MW of power available on the west side of the Garibaldi pier. The same direction was taken by the ports of Genoa and Savona, which have designed electrification of the docks for passenger traffic, for the sum of 19.2 million euros and 10.1 million euros respectively.

Download the Risposte Turismo report (English) here