Province comparisons: where the patente B is passed
This site compares 36 pairs of Italian provinces on the patente B exam, using the official 2025 figures. The widest gap is between Messina and Grosseto, 19.72 points on the theory test. The national figure is 60.3% across 919,868 tests. Source: Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT).
Which provinces are compared?
| Comparison | First province | Second province | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milano and Roma | 59.0% | 56.2% | 2.80 points |
| Roma and Napoli | 56.2% | 60.2% | 3.99 points |
| Milano and Torino | 59.0% | 62.3% | 3.36 points |
| Napoli and Palermo | 60.2% | 65.0% | 4.79 points |
| Roma and Firenze | 56.2% | 57.2% | 1.06 points |
| Bologna and Firenze | 64.0% | 57.2% | 6.80 points |
| Venezia and Padova | 61.7% | 67.6% | 5.89 points |
| Verona and Vicenza | 58.6% | 68.0% | 9.39 points |
| Bari and Napoli | 62.0% | 60.2% | 1.85 points |
| Genova and Torino | 60.2% | 62.3% | 2.16 points |
| Catania and Palermo | 66.2% | 65.0% | 1.28 points |
| Messina and Catania | 69.5% | 66.2% | 3.30 points |
| Bergamo and Brescia | 60.2% | 58.1% | 2.10 points |
| Como and Varese | 61.2% | 60.4% | 0.76 points |
| Parma and Modena | 63.1% | 63.8% | 0.67 points |
| Modena and Reggio nell'Emilia | 63.8% | 61.6% | 2.15 points |
| Rimini and Ravenna | 60.4% | 60.1% | 0.31 points |
| Perugia and Terni | 59.4% | 59.7% | 0.26 points |
| Ancona and Pesaro e Urbino | 57.6% | 60.3% | 2.70 points |
| Pescara and Chieti | 59.5% | 63.5% | 4.06 points |
| Salerno and Caserta | 62.9% | 58.4% | 4.44 points |
| Lecce and Brindisi | 64.0% | 62.5% | 1.44 points |
| Taranto and Bari | 67.3% | 62.0% | 5.26 points |
| Cagliari and Sassari | 61.8% | 55.3% | 6.52 points |
| Trento and Bolzano | 57.9% | 54.6% | 3.23 points |
| Trieste and Udine | 57.3% | 62.3% | 5.07 points |
| Cosenza and Catanzaro | 61.4% | 61.5% | 0.05 points |
| Livorno and Pisa | 51.7% | 64.8% | 13.09 points |
| Siena and Arezzo | 58.0% | 53.1% | 4.97 points |
| Grosseto and Livorno | 49.8% | 51.7% | 1.88 points |
| Messina and Grosseto | 69.5% | 49.8% | 19.72 points |
| Latina and Frosinone | 58.8% | 58.4% | 0.40 points |
| Lucca and Pistoia | 55.7% | 61.3% | 5.61 points |
| Treviso and Belluno | 62.5% | 57.0% | 5.50 points |
| Alessandria and Asti | 59.2% | 57.4% | 1.79 points |
| Pavia and Milano | 59.8% | 59.0% | 0.85 points |
The gap is the distance in percentage points between the two provinces, without a sign. The unit stays the test sat, not the person.
How much do these gaps mean?
The narrowest gap on the list is between Cosenza and Catanzaro, 0.05 points, fewer than one test in a hundred. The widest is between Messina and Grosseto, 19.72 points.
The test is the same across Italy and the questions come from the same ministerial bank, so a gap does not measure how hard the exam is. It measures who sits it, and how large the sample is. The full argument is in the guide on why pass rates differ.
Frequently asked questions
How are the pairs chosen?
Each pair is picked by hand, never generated: two neighbouring provinces, the two poles of one region, or two cities already compared for other reasons. The 107 provinces would give 5,671 combinations, almost all of them answering a question nobody asks.
Why do some provinces never appear?
Five provinces have no row of their own in the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT) table: Monza e della Brianza, Prato, Fermo, Barletta-Andria-Trani and Sud Sardegna. Without an official figure there is no comparison, and no estimate is put in its place.
Does a higher pass rate mean an easier test?
No. The test is identical across Italy, drawn from the same ministerial bank. Differences reflect who sits the test and how large the sample is.
Data as of . Source: Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT).