A mid-year report by the Italian prison monitoring association Antigone paints a dramatic picture of “inhumane conditions” and “trampled rights” within the nation’s penitentiary system. Titled “The Emergency is Now,” the report details escalating inmate numbers, deteriorating living standards, and surging protests, suicides, and reports of mistreatment.
Based on 86 prison visits conducted over the past year, Antigone states that Italy’s prison population reached 62,728 by June 30, 2025 – an increase of 1,248 inmates compared to the previous year. Overcrowding is identified as the most alarming issue, with the average occupancy rate hitting 134.3%. Shockingly, 62 institutions exceed 150% capacity, and eight facilities, including San Vittore (Milan), Foggia, Lodi, and Rome’s Regina Coeli, reach 190%. Conditions are exacerbated by extreme heat and inadequate ventilation in cells.
Antigone starkly contrasts the government’s “unrealistic plans” and “repeated promises spanning two decades” with the lack of tangible progress. While authorities announced a plan for 7,000 new prison spaces by year-end, only 42 were created in the last year. Meanwhile, the actual number of available spots decreased by 394.
Prisoners are confined for hours in overcrowded, sweltering cells. Antigone found that 35.3% of visited institutions had areas failing to guarantee the minimum 3 square meters of space per inmate. Many detainees endure summer months forced to sleep in poorly ventilated spaces with limited water access. “Daily prison life is inhumane,” the report denounces, noting cell temperatures can reach 37°C (98.6°F), with fans often only available for purchase in limited numbers.
The crisis extends to juvenile facilities, Antigone reports, where inspections revealed youths sleeping on floor mattresses, lacking outdoor time, and facing an alarming rise in psychotropic drug use. Following the implementation of the “Decreto Caivano,” juvenile detention centers saw a 50% surge in inmates in under three years. Over 60% of detained minors are awaiting trial, and 91 minors were transferred to adult facilities in just the first half of 2025.
Rome exemplifies the national emergency. The city’s Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, Valentina Calderone, declared overcrowding is now “structural.” “The situation has become terrible. We can no longer call it an emergency. Prison overcrowding has become a structural condition. We have almost reached 190% overcrowding,” Calderone stated, also highlighting failures in healthcare access where “50% of scheduled visits, including specialist appointments, are canceled.”
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri echoed the severity, calling a report on the city’s prisons “dramatic” and criticizing the central government’s inadequate solutions proposed from Palazzo Chigi. “The situation we face is one of unsustainable overcrowding,” Gualtieri said, demanding “more incisive measures.”
Riproduzione riservata © Copyright ANSA