The 10 worst airport lounges in Italy: 2026

This list comes straight from Lounge Frog's own ratings. I took every open lounge in Italy with at least eight rated metrics, dropped anything that isn't really a lounge (nap suites, spas, restaurants), and sorted from the bottom. Thirty-four Italian lounges qualify, and the median score is 3.3, so the bar is low across the country to begin with. The ten below all score 3.1 or less. The scores are close: the whole list fits between 2.5 and 3.1, and several places are separated by a single metric. Where scores tie I put the lounge with the lower individual scores first.

The pattern is easy to see. Most of these are the only lounge at a regional airport, run by the airport or a ground handler, sold through Priority Pass, and rated 2 for crowding, power and workspace. Three are at Milan Malpensa, which says more about how Malpensa splits its passengers than about any single room.

Sicily, Sardinia and the south

1. Prima Vista Lounge by Aviapartner, Cagliari (2.5). The lowest-rated lounge in Italy on our data. Nothing scores above 3, and food, crowding, quiet, power, views, workspace and exclusivity all sit at 2. It is airside on the first floor, open 05:30 to 21:00, has no showers, and has a smoking room inside. Priority Pass caps stays at three hours. There is no other lounge at Cagliari on the site, so there is no "instead" here. If you have Priority Pass, it is still a chair and a coffee; just don't plan a meal around it.

3. VIP Lounge 'Angelo D'Arrigo', Catania (2.6) and 4. ITA Airways Piazza Vincenzo Bellini Lounge, Catania (2.7). Catania puts both of its lounges on this list, which tells you how little choice there is. The D'Arrigo room is the Priority Pass option: airside in Terminal A near gates 5 and 6, open 05:00 to 23:00, with 2s for crowding, quiet, power, workspace and exclusivity. The ITA lounge rates a touch higher overall but has the single worst score of the pair, a 1 for views, plus 2 for food, power and workspace. It is also landside, before security, next to the Fast Track lane, with a capacity of 20, and it only takes ITA Airways passengers in business class or with the right Miles & More or Star Alliance status. So the honest advice is this: if you are flying ITA with status, the Bellini lounge is the quieter and less crowded room (it scores 4 for exclusivity), but you still have to clear security after it. Everyone else uses D'Arrigo, because there is nothing else.

5. Galilei VIP Lounge, Pisa (2.7). Pisa's only lounge on the site. It's airside on the first floor before the Schengen gates, open 05:00 to 22:00, and the lounge record notes it may close 40 minutes before the last departure. Crowding, power, workspace and exclusivity score 2, and the rest score 3. There are no showers. It is a small-airport lounge, and that is mostly what the score reflects.

6. Pearl Lounge, Naples (2.8). Naples has one lounge, opposite gate C17, and many airlines send their business-class passengers there, which shows in the 2 for crowding and exclusivity. Views also score 2. It does have a business corner, a meeting room and a shower (Priority Pass members pay for the shower), and food, coffee and workspace are all 3. Priority Pass caps stays at three hours. There is nowhere else to go, and for a Naples departure it is a reasonable room.

Milan Malpensa

2. Monteverdi Classic Lounge, Terminal 1 Schengen (2.6). This is the lowest-rated lounge at a major Italian airport. It gets a 1 for exclusivity and 2s for food, crowding, views and workspace. It was renovated in 2023, and from September 23, 2026 expansion works have cut its capacity; Priority Pass warns that entry may be restricted at busy times and limits stays to two hours. Go here instead: the Lufthansa Lounge in the same Schengen area, near gates A24 to A30, rates 4.2, with 5s for coffee, power and restrooms. You need a Lufthansa Group business-class ticket, eligible Miles & More status or Star Alliance Gold. With Priority Pass alone, Monteverdi is your only lounge on the Schengen side of Terminal 1.

8. Pergolesi Classic Lounge, Terminal 1 non-Schengen (2.9). It shares Monteverdi's 1 for exclusivity and 2 for crowding, though its wifi rates a 4. It is in area B after passport control and takes Priority Pass and LoungeKey for non-Schengen departures. Go here instead: the Montale Exclusive Lounge in the same area rates 3.2, has a shower and takes Priority Pass, so with a Priority Pass card it is the easy upgrade. If you'll pay or your airline has a contract, the Gae Aulenti Premium Lounge nearby rates 3.6; it is not in Priority Pass. Emirates passengers have the Emirates Lounge at 4.1.

10. Alda Merini Classic Lounge, Terminal 2 (3.1). Opened in 2024, it sits airside, near gates D20 to D22. It isn't bad. Cleanliness, power and wifi score 4, but exclusivity is 1, and that pulls it into the bottom ten. It is the only lounge in Terminal 2. The Terminal 1 lounges are in a separate terminal building, so for a Terminal 2 departure there is no practical alternative. Use it.

Venice and Verona

7. Aspire Executive Lounge, Venice (2.9). Swissport's first Aspire lounge in Italy opened in September 2025. It is landside, on the second floor above check-in, open 08:00 to 20:00. Views get a 1, and drinks, food, seating and exclusivity get 2. It is clean, quiet and uncrowded (4s across the board there), and entry comes with fast-track security. But it is before security and it opens late for the early bank. Go here instead: the Marco Polo Club rates 3.5 and sits airside after security but before passport control, so both Schengen and non-Schengen passengers can use it. It takes Priority Pass, has a shower and scores 4 for food and drinks.

9. Catullo Lounge by Aspire, Verona (3.0). Verona's only lounge. It is airside near the B gates, open 06:00 to 21:00, and the only complimentary alcohol is beer, wine and spritz. Views score 2 and everything else 3 or 4. Nothing here is a real failure; it is simply an ordinary room at a mid-sized airport. Use it if you have Priority Pass or want to pay Aspire's walk-in rate.

Also low, but not on the list

Two lounges rate low enough for this list but have no photos on the site yet, so I left them off. The VIP Club Lounge in Florence rates 2.7. The Work Lounge in Bari rates 3.0, with a 1 for food and a 1 for drinks; it is set up as a workspace, not a lounge, and scores 4 for wifi, power and workspace. Turin's Piemonte Lounge also rates 3.1 and missed the cut only on the tie-break.

Where to look instead

Italy's good rooms are concentrated in Rome and in airline lounges. See the best airport lounges in Italy and the best lounges at Rome Fiumicino. For the wider picture, the worst airport lounges in Europe puts these scores in context. How we rate lounges is explained in our methodology.