An important role of the CDP Group in our country’s real estate sector is to take direct action to bridge market gaps while also working to bring together institutional capital and investments with a social impact. This summarises the key points that emerged from CDP Real Asset’s participation in MIPIM 2026 in Cannes, one of the world’s leading events dedicated to real estate, held this year from 9 to 13 March.
Antonino Turicchi, CEO of CDP Real Asset, presented the strategy pursued by the company in two of the main conferences organised as part of the event: “Redevelopment of Disused Properties – Guido Reni Barracks”, at the Roma Capitale stand, and “Italian Real Estate in the European Context: Outlook, Capital and Returns”, organised by Studio Chiomenti.
Managing the “first mile” of complex projects – structuring, defining the project framework, reducing risk in the initial stages – is certainly a task for an institutional investor such as CDP, which in this way makes investment more attractive for the market. A concrete example of this approach is a high-impact urban regeneration initiative: the redevelopment project for the former Guido Reni Barracks in Rome’s Flaminio district, which Turicchi illustrated together with Manfredi Catella, CEO of COIMA, CDP Real Asset’s partner in the redevelopment project.
On the social housing front, the CEO of CDP Real Asset recalled that 15 years ago the CDP Group was a pioneer in Italy when it came to financing social housing projects, and that operations have gradually expanded to include student, senior and service housing, covering the entire “life cycle” of social housing. “The challenge lies in the ability to develop projects that are clear, efficient and governed transparently”, Turicchi explained. “If we succeed in combining institutional capital, efficient governance and clear social objectives, Italy can establish itself as one of the most attractive real estate markets in Europe. The demand is already there. Our job is to make investment possible”.