The Bank of Italy has published a research note analysing the German and Italian government bond markets, focusing on market liquidity and the respective roles of banks and non-banks. The note examines holdings and market structure at a granular sectoral level and reviews trading activity across different types of market participants. It also considers the role of these participants and their resilience to shocks in the repo and futures markets, with the aim of improving understanding of government bond market dynamics, investor behaviour and liquidity for policymakers and market participants.