Campania remains the top region in environmental crimes: 5.636 offenses, Naples leading the way.

Campania once again leads the regional rankings for environmental crimes this year. In 2025, law enforcement and port authorities charged Campania with 5.636 crimes, 15,8% of the national total. This is confirmed by Ecomafia 2026. The numbers and stories of environmental crimes in Italy, the Legambiente report presented today.

Sicily comes next, with 3.726 crimes (10,4%), followed by Puglia, with 3.601. Calabria comes fourth (2.862). The four regions with a traditional mafia presence account for 44,3% of Italy's confirmed environmental crimes.

The national picture: fewer crimes, more business

Campania's record must be read in context. After two years of growth, environmental crimes in Italy dropped to 35.735, a 12% decrease compared to 2024, despite over 1,4 million inspections. However, administrative violations increased to 77.895, an 11,4% increase. Total violations reached 113.630, approximately 13 every hour.

The illegal business of eco-mafias, Legambiente estimates, reaches 11,5 billion euros, 2,2 more than in 2024. From 1995 to today, 393 clans have been registered. Illegal waste management remains at the top of the crime list (10.914), ahead of concrete and illegal construction (8.034) and crimes against animals (6.930).

The regional map: the North is not out

Lazio ranks fifth, ahead of Central Italy, with 2.358 crimes. Sardinia climbs to sixth place (2.240), surpassing Tuscany (2.123), confirming a growing trend since 2022, when it ranked fifteenth. The island also recorded 6.067 administrative offenses.

In the North, Liguria displaces Lombardy and places eighth with 1.863 criminal offences, an increase on 2024. Lombardy is ninth (1.822), Emilia-Romagna tenth (1.434).

Napoli first, Palermo explodes, Lecce enters

Among the provinces, Naples remains at the top, with 2.512 crimes and an 8,6% increase over 2024. Salerno comes in second, with 1.472 crimes, an 11,4% increase. Palermo comes in third, with 1.235 crimes and a growth that Legambiente calls "impressive": an increase of 59,6%.

Rome remains stable in fourth place (1.113), followed by Cosenza (1.092) and Bari (985). Genoa climbs to seventh place and confirms its position as the leading province in the North (963). A new entry in the top ten is Lecce, with 847 crimes. Foggia (838) and Ancona (671) remain in the ranking.

Green corruption: Campania leads, arrests in Sicily

Campania is once again first in environmental corruption, with 15 investigations. Followed by Sicily (13), Lombardy (9), Puglia (7), Lazio (6), Calabria (5) and Piedmont (4). Southern Italy has 27 investigations.

The rankings for arrests are reversed: first Sicily (96), then Campania (85), Puglia (53) and Lombardy (32). Fewer crimes were detected at a national level, therefore, but the South continues to concentrate illegality, investigations and arrests.