Covid-19 sparks unprecedented north-south exodus of remote workers in Italy

To attract young professionals, a town near Palermo has made their most attractive space available, with an uninterrupted view of the Mediterranean. © FRANCE 24

In Italy, more than 100,000 people working in the north have returned to their native villages in the south because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are continuing to work for their employers based in the north, but remotely. As a result, large northern cities are losing their workforces. Milan, an important business hub, has lost more than 12,000 inhabitants since February 2020. Meanwhile, towns in the south are benefitting from the arrival of these young remote working professionals, in a north-south exodus previously unheard of in Italy. Our correspondents report from Sicily.