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A city in Abruzzo, home to the University of Teramo (five departments) and to the head office of ASL Teramo. The Comune's site lists among its places of interest the Roman theatre, the Pinacoteca civica and the L'ARCA workshop.

Capital of Molise at about 700 m altitude, Campobasso is Italy's smallest regional capital after Aosta, with fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants. A city of regional offices, university and agri-food, with a medieval old town below the Monforte Castle and a nineteenth-century town below. Low costs, cold winters with snow, slow connections.

Provincial capital in Molise, with the Comune at piazza Marconi 3. In the historic centre, in piazza Andrea d'Isernia, the cathedral of San Pietro Apostolo stands on the podium of an Italic temple. For health care the city belongs to ASReM's Health District no. 3 (Isernia, Agnone, Venafro).

Capital of the Irpinia area, in the province of the DOCG wines Taurasi, Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino. The 1980 earthquake marked the city; today it hosts the Federico II University's viticulture and oenology campus and museums such as the Museo Irpino and Villa Amendola.

Provincial capital of the Sannio area, in Campania. The Santa Sofia monumental complex belongs to the UNESCO site "The Longobards in Italy. Places of Power (568-774 A.D.)", inscribed in 2011; the city also has the Arch of Trajan, the Museo del Sannio and the Università degli Studi del Sannio.

A provincial capital in Campania, known for the Reggia: the 18th-century Royal Palace with its Park, the Carolino Aqueduct and the San Leucio complex has been on the UNESCO list since 1997. The railway station is opposite the Reggia; the city has the Sant'Anna e San Sebastiano hospital trust.

Campania's most populous non-capital municipality, in the Naples metropolitan area, with a territory that reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea and includes Lake Patria and the archaeological area of Liternum. It is linked to Naples by the EAV Piscinola–Aversa metro line. Part of it lies in the Campi Flegrei red zone; the Area vasta di Giugliano is a site of national interest awaiting remediation.

Italy's third city by population and capital of Campania, Naples is dense and layered: a UNESCO-listed historic centre, bourgeois hillside districts, populous outskirts to the east and north. A service economy, the port, fast-growing tourism and one of the country's largest university clusters. Costs below Rome and Milan, but uneven public services.

Provincial capital on the gulf of the same name and, after Naples, the most populous provincial capital in Campania. Medieval historic centre with the Norman cathedral and the crypt of Saint Matthew, Arechi Castle on the hill, a port for containers, ro-ro and passengers. The university is based on the Fisciano campus. Saint Matthew (21 September) and the winter Luci d'Artista mark the year.

A city in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in Apulia. Castel del Monte, on the UNESCO list since 1996, stands in its territory. The municipality lists among its sites the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, five museums (including the Sugared Almond Museum) and a nature reserve on the Murgia.

Capital of Apulia and a metropolitan city, over 300,000 residents on the Adriatic. An economy of public administration, health care, universities, the port, the trade fair and industry in the Bari-Modugno area. Housing costs are below those of the big northern cities, rising in the centre and along the seafront.

A city on the Adriatic coast of Apulia, in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. The regional tourism guide mentions the Colossus, the castle, the cathedral and the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, plus the Challenge of 13 February 1503; the coast stretches for over 10 km, divided by the port into Levante and Ponente beaches.

Provincial capital in Puglia on the sea, with a port run by the Southern Adriatic Sea Port System Authority. In Roman times it was one of the termini of the Via Appia, which the municipality recalls through the Roman columns. It hosts a University of Salento teaching hub and the Perrino hospital.

A city at the centre of the Tavoliere delle Puglie plain, marked by the 1731 earthquake and the 1943 bombings, with a largely preserved historic centre and a 12th-century cathedral. It is home to the University of Foggia, independent since 1999, and to a Leonardo plant that makes the horizontal stabiliser of the Boeing 787. Linked by train with Lucera and the Gargano.

Capital of the Salento area, in Apulia, known for Lecce baroque in local limestone and for the Roman amphitheatre emerging in piazza Sant'Oronzo. It hosts the Università del Salento, whose origins go back to 1955.

A city on the Ionian Sea between the Mar Grande and the Mar Piccolo, founded by Spartan colonists in 706 BC. The old town is an island, linked to the post-unification Borgo by the swing bridge. It has the MArTA with the Gold of Taranto and sites of the University of Bari, and hosted the 20th Mediterranean Games. Buses, boat lines and BRT works are run by Kyma Mobilità.

An art city on the Adriatic coast of Apulia, in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. The regional guide features the Cathedral of San Nicola Pellegrino, the Swabian Castle, the old port and the Giudecca; the Comune lists four museums, including the Sant'Anna Synagogue Museum.

Provincial capital in Basilicata known for the Sassi, the complex of houses, churches and monasteries cut into the rock, inscribed by UNESCO in 1993 together with the Park of the Rupestrian Churches. It has a University of Basilicata campus and the Madonna delle Grazie hospital; trains from Bari are run by FAL, while the nearest FS station is Ferrandina-Scalo Matera.

Capital of Basilicata and Italy's highest regional capital (819 m), just over 60,000 residents. A city of regional offices, hospital and university, with cold winters, escalators instead of a metro and no airport in the region. Low costs; it suits public-sector workers and students, less those who want the sea and major connections.

Provincial capital in Calabria, with the town hall at piazza dei Bruzi 1. The civic Museo dei Brettii e degli Enotri is in the Sant'Agostino monumental complex and the Alfonso Rendano municipal theatre is among the city's monuments. The University of Calabria's Arcavacata campus has a postal address in Rende (via Pietro Bucci): a different comune.

Provincial capital in Calabria, with the Comune at piazza della Resistenza 1. The Castello di Carlo V, in piazza Castello, is a square-plan fortress that keeps the form of the Aragonese period, strengthened with bastions under Charles V; the Teatro comunale «Vincenzo Scaramuzza» and the Biblioteca «Armando Lucifero» are among the cultural venues published by the Comune.

Capital of Calabria, just over 80,000 residents, in three parts: the historic centre on a hill at about 300 metres, Catanzaro Lido on the Ionian Sea and Germaneto with the regional Cittadella, the campus and the hospital. A city of administration, health care and university; low costs, car needed, airport at Lamezia.

A city at the tip of Calabria facing the Strait and Sicily, nearly destroyed by the 1908 earthquake and rebuilt in Liberty (Art Nouveau) style. The National Archaeological Museum holds the Riace Bronzes. The Mediterranea University and the University for Foreigners; an airport about 8 km away; fast ships to Messina; ATAM buses about half electric.

Provincial capital in south-western Calabria, on a hill above the Tyrrhenian Sea, with the port of Vibo Marina. It has a state music conservatoire, the ASP's "G. Jazzolino" hospital and, for flights, Lamezia Terme airport, reachable by car or coach.