Recently, Italy has initiated a significant reform of its port system by introducing new legislation aimed at establishing a state-owned port company called Porti d'Italia Spa. This company will serve as a national coordination center for Italian port investments and will be jointly owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Transport, with an initial capital of 500 million euros.

Italy currently has 58 commercial ports, but the decentralized management and bureaucratic inefficiencies have long hindered the country's logistics potential. This reform aims to establish a super agency that can coordinate the 16 local port authorities and expedite the implementation of strategic infrastructure projects. Revenues from port concession fees and certain port charges will be channeled into a Maritime Investment Fund managed by Porti d'Italia Spa.

By 2024, Italy's port cargo throughput reached 481 million tons, with a 0.7% year-on-year increase, and container throughput stood at 11.7 million TEUs, marking a 6.5% increase. Italy's major seaports include the ports of Genoa, Gioia Tauro, Livorno, Naples, and Trieste, with Gioia Tauro being Italy's largest container port, handling 3.94 million TEUs last year; while Trieste is the port with the highest cargo throughput, handling around 62 million tons last year.

The Italian government aims to establish a more efficient and competitive system to attract private capital and expedite integration with the European transport corridors, positioning Italian ports within the global logistics network.

As Porti d'Italia Spa is a publicly listed company with greater operational flexibility compared to existing port authorities, the company seeks to combine national-level coordination capabilities with private sector investment capacity. It aims to create a hybrid governance framework that balances national authority and the autonomy of local port authorities.