A Europe-wide survey focused on the quality of life in the main cities in the continent has exposed what locals think about the places where they live.
Among the aspects analysed by the poll, which the European Commission has been running since 2007, are safety, the availability of green spaces and public transport.
When it comes to the cleanliness of cities, the results published in early 2024 show that the residents of Palermo, on the Italian island of Sicily, expressed a very low level of satisfaction last year.
In fact, only six percent of the people polled in the city said at the time to be happy with the state of cleanliness of their city, which resulted in Palermo being ranked last among the 83 areas polled.
Another famous Italian city, Rome, came in second-to-last in the survey when analysing only the level of satisfaction of locals over its cleanliness – 11 percent.
France’s Marseille was named the third-dirtiest city in Europe by its residents, with 22 percent of those polled saying they were satisfied with the state of cleanliness.
The city crowned the cleanest in Europe in 2023 was Luxembourg, where 93 percent of those surveyed said to be happy with this aspect of their city.
Looking at other categories analysed by the survey, residents in Palermo also thought in 2023 that their city performed particularly poorly when it comes to public transport and aspects of public administration – including how long it takes to get a request solved.
Overall, this Sicilian city came last when analysing the overall satisfaction of its residents – with 62 percent saying they are happy with Palermo.
The city scoring the highest satisfaction level last year was Zurich, in Switzerland, with 97 percent of those polled providing a positive answer.
While this wide-ranging survey suggests many people living in Palermo see issues with its public administration, green spaces and other aspects of the city, it remains a destination beloved by many tourists.
Among the aspects attracting most tourists is Palermo’s rich history, which can be seen in its architecture, churches and museums.
Palermo also offers many delicacies, from fried street food including arancini rice balls to the more delicate cannolis.
Yet again, this stunning Sicilian city attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists thanks to its beaches – including the beautiful Mondello Beach, an almost mile-long paradise featuring calm clean waters and white sand.
