Summer temperatures significantly burden detention facilities, making the living conditions of detainees even harsher. At the Rebibbia women’s prison, in the Camerotti ward located on the first floor of the facility, the suffocating summer heat combines with systematic overcrowding, with up to 5 people in rooms intended for 3, and the presence of detainees with pre-existing health conditions, fueling constant internal tension factors. A similar dynamic is observed at the Milan San Vittore prison, where the heat grip is particularly intense and problematic on the top floors of the building. At the Bancali prison in Sassari, inmates have resorted to placing mattresses on the floor in an attempt to find some relief.
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Unsustainable saturation levels in prisons
In general, the Italian penitentiary system, highlights the Antigone Association in its mid-2026 report, has reached unsustainable saturation levels. As of July 28, 2026, there are 64,741 detainees compared to only 46,343 available places, bringing the actual overcrowding rate to 139.7%.
These are, Antigone recalls, numbers not seen since 2013, the year Italy was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for inhuman and degrading treatment.
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Apulia leads the negative record with a rate of 180.4%, followed by Molise (165.9%), Basilicata (162.5%), and Lombardy (157.9%). In six penitentiary institutions, detainees are more than double the available places, with alarming peaks in Lucca (256.8%), Milan San Vittore (223.6%), and Latina (220.8%). Furthermore, in the 72 visits conducted by Antigone in the last twelve months, it emerged that in 44% of the institutions there are cells where the floor space is less than the minimum limit of 3 square meters per person.
Testifying to this condition are the numbers of complaints accepted by the supervisory judiciary for inhuman or degrading treatment suffered by detainees: 6,539 in 2025, 12% more than in 2024.
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