On April 1, 2020, Terzo Binario’s April Fool’s joke was the province of Civitavecchia. A joke, precisely https://www.terzobinario.it/nata-la-provincia-di-civitavecchia/.
Today the province, called Porta d’Italia and whose name frankly does not represent anything or anyone, is becoming a reality. But how?
In Ladispoli in the last City Council this substantial modification of the territory was discussed, with the assizes of Civitavecchia, Santa Marinella and obviously Fiumicino having already said yes with Tarquinia which seems to be on the same wavelength.
Let’s analyze. Because yes? Because the Northern Coast needs greater space for maneuver that Rome does not grant. Yes, Rome understood as the Capitol since the Metropolitan City is a direct expression of the Capitol and the mayor of the Capital is by right the mayor of the Metro City. Except that Metro City brings together the North and South Coast, Tivoli, Torvaianica and Velletri, that is, areas that are so large and heterogeneous that administering them is complex due to the need for different territories with different needs. Complaints have also often been collected in these columns about the fact that interests and professionalism that did not represent these territories were pouring in from the Castles, in a decidedly anomalous percentage.
It must be remembered that Civitavecchia has been aiming for provincial recognition since the end of the 1980s (when the municipality of Fiumicino did not even exist), so much so that there were stickers on a black background with orange writing that read “Cv – Civitavecchia Province” but then the attempts to establish an autonomous body failed in the face of the reticence of Cerveteri and Ladispoli, despite a certain openness of the municipalities of Lake Bracciano, the Tolfa Mountains, Tarquinia and Montalto. The reason for the reticence was clearly explained by the former mayor of Ladispola Crescenzio Paliotta: “Ladispoli is projected onto Rome, 13 thousand people moving around the capital every day”. However, the project makes sense because our territory needs room for maneuver that Città Metro does not grant. It is necessary to have an interlocution which does not exist today, and this is made evident by the influx of councilors and councilors who come from distant areas, blocking an institution that needs to be close to the territory. To this it must be added that a certain contiguity already exists and is given by the areas of competence of the Local Health Authority, the Court, the Coast Guard, the Financial Police, the Carabinieri and the Port System Authority which refer to Civitavecchia. Before the birth of the Ladispoli Commissariat, the Police was also directed by the port municipality but certainly a Police Headquarters, the Prefecture and the Provincial Command of the Force represent institutions that give body and substance to the project.
Let’s now look at the other side of the coin. Why not? Not all that glitters is gold. Given how this new body is being planned, the axis seems rather unbalanced towards Fiumicino which would represent the “strong” municipality due to its 80 thousand inhabitants (compared to 55 thousand in Civitavecchia) but if the respective airports (airport and port) do not the structures change too much, the weight of whoever proposed the SuperProvince, that is, Senator Mario Baccini, who intuited a political perspective or giving greater importance to the territory he administers, changes too. Not only that: it currently also has a favorable political situation given that the Government and the Region are centre-right oriented, the structure was studied by Enrico Michetti, former Melonian candidate for the Capitol and beaten by the current mayor Gualtieri. It is no coincidence that so far it has been the municipalities with centre-right administrations that have given a favorable opinion, primarily Civitavecchia. Here the yes came from the outgoing mayor, Ernesto Tedesco, who thought he was playing good cards for his electoral campaign in the SuperProvince, except having to renounce his second mandate due to choices… made in the capital.
Another not secondary aspect is that such a radical change in the territory cannot be brought about by means of majorities in the municipal councils, but it requires a long and laborious work of knowledge which must be brought to the population because today’s choice will have repercussions in the next decades. And a very broad consensus is needed, to be brought to the higher institutions when the time comes for the final decision which must be ratified by a national law. Instead we move in a hurry, too quickly, so that the decision goes from institutional to political given that the opposition parties are getting in the way – in some cases for bias, in others with valid reasons. It’s easy to think that, with the roles reversed, the behavior would have been the opposite. This is why there is a lack of collective reasoning which should see open advice, discussions with experts, feasibility studies. In any case, at least a consultation with citizens would be fundamental, precisely to create that feeling of belonging that would allow us to feel more strongly about this new body.
And why did Santa Marinella say yes? A new institutional structure would certainly benefit the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea but an old political fox like Pietro Tidei is tickled by the idea of competing for the role of president given that È is in his second term, in Civitavecchia there is a vote in June so for him it could be a coveted landing place. Reasoning similar to that undertaken by Baccini and many who see in the new body a potential intermediate political outlet, to then attempt to climb to the Region.
It should not be forgotten that the new body would have no say in the airports, given that the veto would remain the prerogative of the Region first and foremost. The advantages of the indirect effects on the respective territories in terms of employment and entrepreneurial wealth remain.
Then there are the unknowns, that is, what the Cerveteri assembly will decide, where the center-left governs, caught in the middle by the neighboring municipalities which have already said yes. Mayor Elena Gubetti’s fear is that of remaining crushed in an institutional structure imposed from above as well as penalizing her municipality. The dynamics on which the Cerite municipality moves is similar to that of Ladispoli, i.e. a more Roman-centric vision than “Porti-centric” and it is understandable given that their decision-making potential will be the same as that of Città Metro and it is not certain that funding will arrive equally consistent.
In short, the idea of the Litorale province is not bad, but it is certainly poorly structured and the 5 thousand employees that would be hired seem an abnormal figure compared to the 1,300 of the current Metro City which administers an area of 2 million people when Porta d’Italia he would have 200 thousand or a tenth. These seem like specious arguments to justify decisions already made.
The overall impression is that of a centralization towards Fiumicino, which would risk crushing Civitavecchia, which already aimed to leave the Metro City by moving to Viterbo, imagining an “Etruscan” province that would be more homogeneous and functional with two municipalities in terms of social structures and economic ones that would not have stepped on each other’s toes but rather would have been complementary and equal. Not only that: in the connection sector, the interests would have coincided, with topics on which to fight to raise funds and put pressure on national politics such as for example Trasversale, A12, railway as well as the Viterbo airport which ENAC has hypothesized as possible regional stopover with a tourist vocation, ideal for enhancing Tuscia.
Instead, this Porta D’Italia definitely seems like a centre-right province with Fiumicino as the leader which does not warm hearts at all and, perhaps, tickles too many wallets and perhaps for this reason it is the result of artificial insemination.
av
Published Saturday, May 4, 2024 @ 07:42:00 © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
