Data Centers in Florence

Florence – Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Central Italy

Executive Summary

Florence serves as the primary infrastructure alternative to Milan for organizations requiring a dedicated presence in Central Italy. It offers low-latency access to the Tuscan industrial corridor, providing a stable environment for regional data sovereignty and disaster recovery strategies.

Florence: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

The local network environment is purpose-built to support regional enterprise requirements and high-capacity backhaul to Italy's larger peering hubs.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 15 as of September 2025. The market provides a healthy mix of 15–25 national and international providers, ensuring competitive transport options and resilient multi-homed configurations.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions as of September 2025. While native on-ramps for AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), or Microsoft Azure are not physically located in Florence, enterprises typically access these services via private transport or wavelength services to the Milan hub.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Tuscany Internet eXchange (TIX) serves as the primary regional peering point, facilitating efficient traffic exchange and reducing latency for local end-users.

Bare Metal: High-performance dedicated compute is available through specialized providers like Hivelocity and Latitude.sh, supporting workloads that require raw hardware performance without virtualization overhead.

Power Analysis

Energy costs in Florence reflect the broader Italian market, which is characterized by a significant transition toward sustainable generation.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is priced at €0.19–€0.23/kWh, as of September 2025. The generation mix consists of roughly 60% fossil fuels and 40% renewables. These rates encourage operators to utilize advanced cooling technologies to manage operational expenses.

Power Grid Reliability: Regional data center clusters in Sesto Fiorentino and Campi Bisenzio benefit from well-engineered, redundant power delivery. Multi-substation support ensures that facilities maintain high uptime standards for critical digital operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Florence is a functional industrial center that provides immediate access to some of Italy's most prominent commercial sectors.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are strategically located near the Osmannoro industrial area and the Prato textile district. This proximity allows for direct, low-latency service to manufacturing and fashion leaders who require immediate data processing.

Regional Market Reach: A facility in Florence effectively serves the Tuscany region and surrounding areas of Central Italy, reaching several million people with sub-10ms latency.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Italy provides financial benefits for companies that invest in energy-efficient infrastructure. These incentives help lower the capital required for modernizing cooling systems and power distribution units.

Natural Disaster Risk

The environmental risk profile for Florence is categorized as Low (3.0/10) as of September 2025. Standard engineering practices effectively manage the primary regional hazards.

• Earthquake: 7.7 (High). This is the most significant consideration for structural design in the region.
• River Flood: 6.2 (Moderate). Proximity to the Arno river necessitates specific site selection and elevation protocols.
• Drought: 2.8 (Low). Minimal impact on standard data center operations.
• Epidemic: 1.9 (Low). Standard public health risk levels.

Due to its inland position, risks from coastal flooding and tsunamis are not material for Florence as of September 2025. All other natural hazards are considered minor.