Smarter Italy: 12 villages of the future identified

The Ministry for Technological Innovation and Digitization has announced that it has identified the 12 small municipalities that will be part of the "Smarter Italy" program promoted by the ministry itself and the ministry for Economic Development. Experiments with new technologies at the service of citizens will be carried out in these 12 municipalities, so that these territories can become "frontier technology experimentation laboratories".

The goal is to identify solutions that can be applied to large-scale, but starting from small experiments on which to build protocols, regulations and best-practice solutions to be replicated in other contexts.

The villages of the future

These are the "Villages of the future "Identified:

Alghero Bardonecchia Campobasso Carbonia Cetraro Concorezzo Ginosa Grottammare Otranto Pantelleria Pietrelcina Sestri Levante Now it's up to the companies to carry out their proposals, knowing that they are facing the panel of municipalities on which to start the imentations promoted by ministerial contributions. "The companies that will be selected", explains the ministry, "will have a total amount of 90 million euros available for the development of innovative solutions, not present on the market and developed on the basis of the needs of municipal administrations".

The “Smarter Italy” Program involves not only large cities but also small villages, rich in culture, where new technologies, innovative products and services can be useful to counter the risk of depopulation. The initiative provides, with the collaboration between public and private, solutions for new services for mobility, culture, well-being and personal care and environmental protection. The opportunities for growth for communities thanks to technology, with benefits for companies and citizens, must be able to arise and develop anywhere in our country, even in small villages.

Paola Pisano, Minister for Technological Innovation and digitization

The potential impact of technology on the so-called "internal areas" is a source of potential benefits of the highest scope for a country like Italy where small villages are at the same time a receptacle for problems and wealth. If to resolve the former the territories are often left to themselves, to divide the latter there is often a large availability of participation. However, innovation can restore part of the value to the territories themselves in the form of more efficient services, meeting the needs of those who oversee the territory and enrich it with their daily industriousness.

The project of the “Villages of the future ”It will be important to understand where and if new solutions can be created to be shared throughout the country.