Italy is close to meeting the European target for public nursery school coverage. According to the most recent data available, there are 31.6 public nursery school seats per 100 children under the age of three. This development puts the country just over one percentage point away from the 33% target set by the Barcelona European Council in 2002 and later enacted into Italian legislation. This figure represents significant growth over past years, demonstrating a modest but consistent development of the public provision of early childhood education services. For decades, Italy has been among the European countries most behind on this front, with considerable regional disparities between North and South and total coverage much below the EU average. However, 33% will not be sufficient. European institutions have modified their aims, establishing a new, more ambitious goal for 2030 that the existing level is insufficient to achieve. This means that the increase in available spots must not only continue, but substantially accelerate in the next years. The issue is still critical, both socially and economically: increased availability of public daycare centers has a direct influence on women's labor market participation and eliminating disparities in early childhood education access.