‘See you below Icarus’… Yes, but not too far below, otherwise the alarm could go off. The large statue in Piazzale della Vittoria, one of the symbols of the Morgagni classical high school (in front of which it is positioned) and more generally of the city, today is the zero point of an experimental project, promoted by the safety department headed by Daniele Mezzacapo, which will also include the use of an acoustic signal, just like in museums.
The monument had already been subjected to video surveillance after someone painted the colossus’ toenails. Since then the acts of vandalism had stopped, but, according to Mezzacapo, you can never be too careful: “We will establish an ideal perimeter around the statue and, when someone passes it, an audible warning will go off – explains the deputy mayor –. At the same time, a ‘video alert in the local police operations center, so that they can intervene if necessary.” If it is true that Icaro will be the first point in the city equipped with this type of urban alarm, it is also true that the idea is to extend the opportunity to other areas: “It can be done in any place where a camera is installed” . If these are the necessary conditions to activate the acoustic alarm, then this type of system could soon be adopted in many more places than today, given that Mezzacapo plans to soon install many other virtual eyes in different areas of the city.
“The cameras are working great on all fronts, so we plan to increase investment soon.” Here are some numbers: in 2019 there were 125 cameras, today there are 493 and, once the work in progress has been completed, there will be 667. The new cameras will be in the Matteucci car park, in the Figurine car park (near Naima, on via Somalia), at the Galleria Vittoria, in Corso della Repubblica, in the Ospedaletto roundabout and in the Viale Roma-Zangheri roundabout. As regards, however, the license plate reading system, “in 2019 – explains Mezzacapo – there were no cameras installed in the city responsible for this function, while today we have 86. Soon we will position others in the Ospedaletto roundabout and in the Rome roundabout. Zangheri”.
“This type of system – underlines the commander of the local police Claudio Festari – is used in particular for functions related to compliance with the highway code, with great results as regards road safety”. The video surveillance system is created by the Municipality thanks to Fmi technicians: “We remember – specifies the director Claudio Maltoni – that in recent years 15 kilometers of optical fiber have been installed which allow us to act for video surveillance, but also for emergency interventions smart cities'”.
Soon, in concert with the local police officers, two new experimental services will also be activated: “One concerns the Cava district – Festari specifies – where in April a night service will start between Friday and Saturday, in order to reassure the inhabitants of the area. At the same time, in the Ca’ Ossi neighbourhood, we will start with the neighborhood watch service, to create a direct relationship between the police and citizens, with a view to expanding to other neighborhoods in the future.”
 eyes on the city. And Icarus becomes impassable: “Video surveillance works”){kind=link}