Infrastructure, that mosaic that unites Sicily and Calabria

«It will unite Sicily to the Continent and the Mediterranean to Europe. It will be the fundamental hub of an integrated infrastructural system, serving the territory and citizens. Will implement the “Scan-Med Corridor” (Helsinki-Palermo-La Valletta) projecting the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean towards Europe”. The focus on the Messina Strait Bridge and the system of infrastructural works connected to it, made during the conference organized by the Kore University of Enna (with its “Marta” Centre), served to frame the most “challenging” project, and controversial, of the history of public works in Italy, in a much broader scenario, dispelling some clichés and going into detail on the technical aspects, which are the ones that should be decisive, with respect to the political contrasts and ideological clashes of the “Yes ” and “No”.
Objective fully achieved, that of the University of Enna, governed by prof. Francesco Tomasello and chaired by prof. Cataldo Salerno and with the general management entrusted to Salvatore Berrittella. «We don’t engage in politics, we don’t take sides – Tomasello and Salerno reiterated – but what matters to us is to address the issues on a scientific level and clear the field of that unbearable habit of “benaltrism”, of those who continue to repeat “before doing this, we need that…””. And precisely to go beyond this logic, the leaders of RFI and Anas have illustrated, in detail, what is being done between Calabria and Sicily, with investments never planned before, with works in progress which already amount to tens of billions of euros, with others ready to go in a relatively short time horizon. The “transport revolution”, which the national president of RFI spoke about, Dario Lo Bosco, “it is underway” and denying it would only be a sin of bad faith. Then, as has rightly been said, the works must be carried out and completed, interventions on roads, motorways, railways cause inconveniences, it is necessary to ensure that the territories suffer them in the most attenuated way possible (and sometimes it is almost prohibitive to succeed in this task) but it is also true that we cannot complain – as has happened for a century or so – about the very serious infrastructural deficiencies endured by Calabria and Sicily and then, when the works are carried out, cry scandal and say which should not be done.