It is anticipated that ‘a redefinition of the digital landscape of the Mediterranean’ will come about in Puglia with the creation of the Puglia Data Centre Valley, a development programme that brings together three large scale AI data centre projects totalling more than 2 GWe.
Developer Adriatic DC’s plans include the redevelopment of Bari’s former Manifattura Tabacchi industrial area into a 200 MW data centre, the development of a second 500 MW greenfield facility in Brindisi’s industrial area, and finally the Adriatic DC Hub, a 1.5 GW greenfield campus covering 2000 acres, and set to become the largest data centre complex currently under development in Europe and among the largest in the world, on par with the Stargate campus in the United States.
This initiative arises from an unprecedented global demand for computing power – driven by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence – and aims to position southern Italy at the heart of this transformation.
The overall strategy rests on solid infrastructural foundations: Puglia is the leading Italian region for electricity production from renewable sources, boasts operational international submarine digital connections, and will soon be connected to the new Italy–Albania energy cable, designed to further strengthen the flow of renewable energy along the Adriatic corridor.
The regional government of Puglia has established an interdepartmental working group on data centres, tasked with effectively co-ordinating permitting processes, defining technical guidelines, and facilitating dialogue with local authorities, thereby offering operators clear guidance and a dedicated institutional channel.
“The Puglia Data Centre Valley was created to place southern Italy and southern Europe at the centre of the new geopolitics of artificial intelligence” said Lorenzo Avello, CEO of Adriatic DC. “Global demand for computing power is growing at record rates. Our goal is to build an industrial platform capable of attracting strategic investment to projects with reliable execution timelines, generating skilled employment, and strengthening both European digital sovereignty and national data security.“
The first construction sites are scheduled to break ground by the end of 2026, with an initial investment phase of approximately €2 billion for the first project. However, estimates suggest that, once fully operational, the total investment across the three projects – including direct, indirect, and infrastructure-related components – could exceed €100 billion.
