Rome has spent centuries being admired. Now it is becoming increasingly attractive to international property investors.
That might sound like a distinction without a difference. It isn’t.
For decades, the Italian capital offered something that many other European cities could no longer provide: extraordinary architecture, an internationally desirable lifestyle and relatively accessible property prices.
What it did not always offer was the infrastructure, administrative efficiency or modern residential accommodation expected by wealthy international buyers.
According to a Financial Times feature by Hugo Cox, that picture is beginning to change.
The €3.7 billion public investment programme associated with the 2025 Catholic Jubilee has helped improve infrastructure and public spaces. Meanwhile, private developers are introducing luxury residential projects designed around international expectations, including contemporary services and amenities.
The change is attracting attention.
The share of international buyers in Rome’s prime residential market has reportedly risen from 7% in 2019 to 20% in 2026. Interest is particularly strong among purchasers from the United Kingdom, France and the United States.
Italy’s favourable tax arrangements for certain new residents have also contributed to the appeal.
And despite its international reputation, Rome remains relatively inexpensive compared with several major European capital cities at the luxury end of the market.
But the transformation raises an important question about what international competitiveness actually means.
A city can become more appealing to foreign investors without becoming easier to live in for its existing population.
Luxury residences, international hotels and renovated public spaces can improve an urban economy, create employment and attract investment.
They do not automatically resolve housing affordability, public transport, bureaucracy or the everyday difficulties facing residents.
Nor is the arrival of wealthy foreign buyers necessarily a problem in itself. International capital can finance restoration and development that might otherwise never happen.
The question is what happens around it.
Does the investment generate broader improvements? Does it encourage better services and more effective institutions? Does the city become more productive and accessible, or simply more exclusive?
Rome’s attraction has never depended solely on efficiency. Its character, history and cultural life are part of its economic advantage.
The challenge is to modernise without destroying the qualities that make the city attractive in the first place.
Becoming an international property destination is relatively straightforward. Becoming a genuinely international city is something else entirely.
THE ITALIC TAKE
We Italians have spent years explaining that Rome’s inefficiency is part of its charm. Apparently, international investors are now prepared to test that theory with considerable sums of money.
Foreign capital is welcome. Better infrastructure is even more welcome. But a city isn’t truly becoming global just because more foreigners can afford to buy its most beautiful apartments.
Perhaps Rome’s next luxury should be something everyone can enjoy: a city that actually works.
ITALIC — Set in bold. From Italy without geography.