Italy has always known how to distinguish itself in the world for its creativity and inventiveness. This is true in the world of art, design and fashion, as well as in research and industry. As shown by an analysis carried out by Unioncamere-Dintec, there will be 4,465 Italian patent applications published by the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2020, 5.3% more than the previous year. 

Since 2008, Unioncamere explains, Italian inventions protected at European level have been almost 52 thousand. Almost 80% of patents are the result of the work of companies, research bodies and individuals in the regions of Northern Italy. The most innovative region is Lombardy, with 1,506 patents, followed by Emilia-Romagna (with 703 patent applications), Veneto (with 596) and Piedmont (480). The provinces with the highest number of applications are Milan, Turin, Bologna, Rome and Treviso.

The areas of "human needs" (which includes areas such as agriculture, clothing, tobacco and sports) and the sector of "industrial techniques and transport" (i.e. manufacturing and automotive industry) are those that absorb more than half of the innovative capacity made in Italy: the patents filed in 2020 have grown by 10% compared to 2019. Also compared to 2019, the biggest increases concern mainly some sectors that make Italy famous in the world. For example, textiles and paper registered a +53%, going from 75 to 114.

Finally, Unioncamere's survey shows that one patent out of 5, of those published in 2020, concerns six biotech technologies that the European Commission considers particularly strategic: micro/nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, photonics, advanced materials, industrial biotechnology and advanced manufacturing technologies.