Source: Sardinia Region, 07/08/25
The Region takes a new decisive step to strengthen the candidacy of the Sos Enattos mining site to host the Einstein Telescope. Following a proposal of President Alessandra Todde, the Regional Government has approved the establishment of the “Einstein Telescope (ET) Sos Enattos” Project Unit. This unit, established within the Presidency, will be responsible for coordinating political, cultural, and organizational activities in support of the candidacy, as well as implementing the communication and local engagement plan. The Project Unit will carry out the strategic guidelines defined by the Steering Committee and the multilevel governance structure.
«What we are building is not just a scientific project. It is a new civil and cultural infrastructure. A model in which science is not a distant world but a driver of social cohesion, economic development, and new opportunities for young people and the territory. Through this project, we aim to promote synergy between research institutions, universities, businesses, and international partners to strengthen a virtuous link between the scientific ecosystem and the productive fabric of our region», emphasized President Alessandra Todde
With the same resolution, the Regional Government also approved the allocation of the €2.5 million budget provided in the 2025 Stability Law, dedicating the funds to two priority areas: communication (€1 million) and territorial mediation and engagement activities (€1.5 million), to be carried out between 2025 and 2026.
Among the most significant initiatives is the creation of two infopoints in the Nuoro area: one in Lula, the geographic and symbolic heart of the project, and one in Nuoro, the cultural and scientific center of the territory. The Lula infopoint will be hosted in a municipal building identified in agreement with the local administration and will serve as an information desk and first contact point for the project. In Nuoro, a large permanent exhibition space will be created, dedicated to scientific outreach and the promotion of the Einstein Telescope. It will be open to schools, citizens, and tourists, with the goal of fostering widespread understanding of the project’s value and the strategic role Sardinia can play in the international research landscape.
According to the proposal from the Management Committee, the municipalities of Lula and Nuoro will provide the premises for the hubs, the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) will supply scientific materials, and the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari will be responsible for selecting, managing, and training the staff for the two hubs in Nuoro and Lula. These universities, along with INAF, INFN, and INGV, will also organize events, symposiums, workshops, and seminars.
To promote Sos Enattos’s candidacy ahead of the final decision on the site’s location, an important cooperation agreement was signed at the end of 2024 between the Region of Sardinia, the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari, the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). This agreement outlines a strategic synergy between the Region and the main scientific and academic institutions, as well as, of course, with the local municipalities involved.
The Einstein Telescope project involves the construction of an underground facility that will host a gravitational wave detector at depths ranging from 200 to 500 meters. Its purpose is to detect gravitational waves, whose existence was first hypothesized by Albert Einstein in 1916.