From innovation the push for Pavia
Attracting investments, retaining talent, building alliances: the Pavia production system relaunches its role at the heart of Italian innovation, transforming strategic vision and collaboration into development engines. This is the message launched by Assolombarda during the 2025 Assise of the Pavia headquarters of the Association, this year hosted by the Fedegari company, just outside Pavia.
Assolombarda presented the update of the Strategic Plan for the Relaunch of the territory launched in 2020, and continuously updated, confirming the centrality of projects already operational and others in the take-off phase. A vision that aims to generate impact on employment, demography, GDP and quality of life, articulated on five fundamental development levers: Innovation, Human Capital, Sustainability, Infrastructure, Business Culture.
"The Pavia area is rich in excellence that we want to enhance further by focusing strongly on the development levers identified by the Strategic Plan - said the President of Assolombarda, Alvise Biffi -. In particular, it is above all by investing in innovation that the area can make a change of pace. In this direction, we have included in the Plan projects that concern microelectronics, artificial intelligence, training, as well as the relaunch of local production vocations, demonstrating that innovating also means knowing how to reinterpret one's roots in light of new global challenges. Concrete examples of this are the Chips.it Foundation, the Microelectronics district and the Cardano Park. It is thanks to innovation, to alliances in the area and to the close interconnection with the 'quadrilateral' composed of the provinces of Assolombarda that the Pavia area can boost productivity and bring more and more companies to international markets".
The heart of the strategy, outlined by the President of the Pavia branch of Assolombarda, Tommaso Rossini, is clear: starting again from the Pavia Innovation Ecosystem, a solid and already active network that unites universities, technical training, research centers, and industry.
"Today - he explains - we talked about concrete projects, a territory in transformation, investments already activated and first tangible results that are translating into operational realities. All this happens without ignoring the critical issues and structural fragilities that still remain, but with the awareness of being able to count on an authentic desire to relaunch. For this reason I brought on stage, together with me, four Pavia entities that are emblematic of the development trajectories of the territory: relationships with universities and IRCSS, life sciences, microelectronics, sustainability, investments in human capital: These companies are Fedegari, CNAO, Inventvm and Allevi. We look to the future with determination and pride, strong in an identity that is rediscovering itself capable of generating development, attractiveness and new prospects for the community and for the production system of the territory".
Pavia is establishing itself as a national centre of excellence for innovation thanks to a constantly evolving ecosystem. The University, the IUSS, the Colleges of Merit, the three IRCCS, the CNAO, the HPC6 Supercomputer, form the basis of a solid, articulated network, cohesive in identifying development prospects and capable of close collaboration with businesses. Strategically important projects, such as Parco Cardano and the Chips-IT Foundation, are strengthening the vocation of the territory, especially in the sectors of microelectronics, life sciences and sustainability.
Too little, however - reports the Strategic Plan - progress on the infrastructure front, which remains the real critical point of the territory. There are some positive signs - from the financing of the project for the Ponte della Becca to the launch of the tenders for the Vigevano-Malpensa - but still far from concrete works. And in the meantime, with the Bressana Bridge in alternating directions for months, the province remains effectively split in two. "A decisive acceleration is needed, on priorities that have already been well identified for some time", Rossini remarked.
To further strengthen the Pavia area's vocation for innovation and enhance its identity, a further project is being developed: an Innovation Festival, which will be held in Pavia in 2026. The initiative was born within a system logic, shared and built together with the Municipality of Pavia, the University of Pavia, Arexpo and the Chamber of Commerce of Pavia, Cremona and Mantua. The aim is to create an event of international scope, capable of celebrating the Pavia production and scientific fabric, the fruitful dialogue between knowledge and business, and the area's ability to attract new networks, relationships and investments. The Innovation Festival is the project glue that
President Rossini announced the evaluation of a project to enhance the territory through cycling and cycle tourism, with contacts with L'Eroica. The aim is to identify the most coherent event for the Oltrepò lands to promote heroic cycling and the related values, which are now a huge trend even in major cycling.
For Vigevano, the President of the Pavia Office announced that he is working on the creation of the Footwear Supply Chain with Assomac, Assocalzaturifici and Confindustria Alto Milanese. Fundamental for the growth of the critical mass of the sector and for the sharing of project choices to be put into common factor, between training and infrastructure.
Economic data of the Pavia area
In 2024, the persistent weakness of global demand and European stagnation weighed particularly heavily on the Pavia economy, leading to a flattening of the province's growth. In fact, Pavia's GDP in 2024 remained unchanged (+0.0%) and a moderate recovery is estimated for 2025 (+0.5%), supported by the services sector and the return of consumption, in line with the Lombard trend.
Pavia's manufacturing production saw a new decline in 2024 (-1.5%) and a further decrease at the beginning of 2025 (-2.9%, compared to the first quarter of 2024), leading to a further widening of the gap compared to the average trend of Lombardy, which also contracted in 2024 but to a more limited extent.
The performance of local companies on international markets, however, remains positive. Exports in 2024 reached a historic record of 4.6 billion euros, with a growth of +3%, higher than both the Lombardy average (+0.6%) and the Italian average (-0.4%). The driving sectors were mechanics (+12.6%) and pharmaceuticals (+12.4%), which together represent over 40% of Pavia's exports. Despite the decline recorded in the first quarter of 2025, exports remain the most dynamic and competitive sector in the area.
Encouraging signs are also emerging on the labor market: the number of employed people in 2024 rose to 237,000, slightly up on 2023 (+0.4%) and above pre-Covid levels. Advanced services, healthcare, and scientific professions are growing in particular, gaining 6,000 employees in just one year. The unemployment rate fell significantly, from 4.7% to 3.5%, below the regional average, with female unemployment falling to 2.1%.
Even on the youth front, the situation is improving: unemployment among 15-24 year olds has dropped from 19% to 12.8%, in line with the Lombardy figure and well below the national average (20.3%). However, the inactive population is also growing (+4,000), a sign of a disenchantment that requires attention.
Critical issues persist in the manufacturing sector, which has been declining since 2023, and in the difficulty of finding key figures: in 2024, 51.1% of the profiles sought were difficult to find, with peaks of 78% for health technicians and 81% for doctors. A challenge that requires active policies on training and orientation.
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