Between 2019 and 2025, 523 bars disappeared in Sardinia. Almost all of them were located in towns. Businesses decreased from 6,016 to 5,493, a decrease of 8.7% . This is a significant figure, although less negative than the national average: in the same period in Italy, the number of bars decreased by 14.2%, from 169,839 to 145,766 businesses.

Confesercenti Sardegna is particularly concerned about the geographical distribution of closures. Of the 523 businesses lost on the island, 415 were located in municipalities outside the capital city, equal to almost 80% of the total . In the five capital cities included in the survey, the number of bars decreased from 1,531 to 1,423, a decrease of 7.1%. In other municipalities, the reduction was more pronounced: from 4,485 to 4,070 businesses, equal to a 9.3% decrease.

"The data confirms a phenomenon we've been denouncing for some time: the progressive weakening of the network of local businesses in our regions," emphasizes Gian Battista Piana, regional director of Confesercenti Sardegna . "The closure of a bar in a small town doesn't just mean the loss of an economic activity. It often means the loss of a service, a meeting point, and one of the last remaining social hubs in the area."

The dynamics vary across the provinces. The largest percentage reduction is seen in Southern Sardinia (-11.7%) , followed by Sassari (-10.2%) and Oristano (-9.2%). Nuoro (-5.3%) and Cagliari (-5.4%) experienced greater resilience. In absolute terms, Sassari recorded the greatest loss, with 236 fewer bars, approximately 45% of the entire regional decline. This is followed by Southern Sardinia (-118), Cagliari (-63), Oristano (-56), and Nuoro (-50). Among the provincial capitals, the figure for Oristano stands out in particular, where the number of bars dropped from 160 to 126, a decrease of 21.3%. The decreases were more modest in Cagliari (-6.2%), Sassari (-4.9%), and Nuoro (-3.2%).

The reduction in the number of businesses has consequences that go beyond the simple number of businesses. Using an average annual turnover of 190,000 euros per business, corresponding to the average 2024 ISA declarations for the category, and assuming that 50% of demand is absorbed by the businesses remaining on the market, Confesercenti estimates the annual loss of wealth in Sardinia due to the reduction in the number of bars recorded between 2019 and 2025 at approximately 156.9 million euros .

Of these, a full 124.5 million concern municipalities that are not provincial capitals, compared to 32.4 million in provincial capitals . "This is the aspect that should give us pause for thought," Piana continues. "In small towns, the closure of businesses has a multiplier effect: purchases from suppliers, employment, and locally generated income decrease, while simultaneously reducing the services available to citizens. The risk is to further fuel the process of depopulation and economic and social impoverishment in the most vulnerable areas."

Despite the contraction, the Sardinian bar system is proving more resilient than the national average . Sardinia has seen an 8.7% decline, compared to Italy's 14.2%. The difference is even more striking in the capital cities: -7.1% on the island versus -15.6% nationwide. Sardinia also maintains one of the highest bar densities relative to its population: in 2025, there were 3.52 businesses per thousand inhabitants, compared to the Italian average of 2.47. The island is second in Italy, preceded only by Liguria. This figure demonstrates the sector's continued importance in Sardinia's economy and social life, partly due to the island's tourism industry.

According to Confesercenti, the data confirms the need to address the progressive commercial desertification not only as a problem for individual economic categories, but as a more general issue of regional stability and local communities.

"We can't even begin to combat the depopulation of small towns if we simultaneously allow the businesses that keep those towns alive to disappear," concludes Bastiano Rosu, president of Fiepet Confesercenti. "Bars, shops, public establishments, and local services constitute a true economic and social infrastructure. Supporting these businesses means supporting people's continued presence in these areas. This is why we need specific policies that reduce the disadvantages of those who continue to operate in small towns and in areas most at risk of commercial desertification."

(Unioneonline/En.Ne.)

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