Is tornado risk adequately perceived in Italy?

Tornadoes are one of the natural perils mostly affecting the United States, causing severe damage and associated losses. In Europe, a gradual interest emerged from the ‘80s, with the collection of reports describing damage induced to built environment. However, few studies analyzed tornado hazard, vulnerability of buildings, and potential losses for the Italian context, even if significant events frequently occurred over the last decades. The main aim of this work is to foster a discussion on tornado risk assessment practices for the Italian context, highlighting how the real perception of such kind of risk is effectively underestimated in Italy, and providing some indications for further future research developments.