Source: Sardinia Region – INGV – Municipality of Nuoro, 16 January 2025
The National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the Sardinia Region, and the Municipality of Nuoro are strengthening their scientific collaboration. Today, in the council chamber of the capital of Barbagia, Mayor Emiliano Fenu, the President of the Region, Alessandra Todde, and the President of INGV, Fabio Florindo, signed a framework agreement aimed at promoting the coordinated development of projects of high scientific value across the territory, boosting research, advanced training, and the transfer of technology and know-how.
This partnership stems from the candidacy of the former Sos Enattos mining site to host the Einstein Telescope (ET) project and, in addition to strengthening that candidacy, will bring opportunities for advanced professional training to Nuoro. The Municipality will make available to INGV the premises of the former Artillery complex, currently undergoing redevelopment, which will thus become the headquarters of a major scientific–university hub.
«Today – said President Todde – we crown a week that will be fundamental also in our race to secure the Einstein Telescope project at the Sos Enattos site: on Monday, in Rome, we signed a declaration of intent with Saxony to tackle this path together; today we are facing another epoch-making event for Nuoro and the Nuoro area with INGV’s commitment to invest in advanced training, placing its technical and scientific expertise at the service of the territory». This – Todde emphasized – is what we mean when we talk about the positive impacts linked to ET, direct or indirect, that will change the face of Sardinia. INGV putting down roots in Nuoro means offering our students training opportunities that until a few months ago were unimaginable and, at the same time, making the capital attractive to those who wish to specialize and pursue advanced studies in specific fields. So not only scientific outcomes, but also economic and social development».
«This agreement – declared Mayor Emiliano Fenu – is the first concrete step in the path undertaken by our administration to transform the city of Nuoro into a scientific and research hub. Hosting INGV, one of the world’s leading research institutes in geophysics and volcanology, is a major achievement for us, the result of joint political work between the Municipality of Nuoro and the Sardinia Region. The former Artillery complex is the ideal place to host the Institute, a site where research bodies will operate side by side with students from the university campus, in an area that is being returned to the city in its new role as a scientific reference hub for all of Sardinia. Enhancing Nuoro’s university and scientific potential is one of the pillars of our administrative action, aimed at restoring the city’s rightful centrality and making it more attractive to those who want to invest in education and research».
«I welcome with enthusiasm the interest that the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the Municipality of Nuoro are demonstrating through concrete actions in support of the activities of the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology in Sardinia», said INGV President Fabio Florindo. «We want to contribute – the President continued – to the Einstein Telescope candidacy not only by ensuring continuity to the observations started in 2019, but by strengthening infrastructures and expanding our research in view of the site selection, which is now imminent. The support of local government is essential in this final phase. The data collected in Sardinia, in a stable and quiet environment, will be integrated into INGV’s observational networks to improve understanding of the evolution of the Mediterranean area and of the active processes we observe along the Apennine chain and in Italian volcanoes. These data will also form the basis for deepening knowledge of Sardinia’s geology through a multidisciplinary approach».
To give substance and momentum to the agreement, a Steering Committee will be established with the task of defining the programmatic themes covered by the agreement. The body will be composed of one representative from the Region, one from the Municipality, and one from INGV, who will not receive remuneration for their activities. The Committee may draw on the support of INGV, Regional, and Municipal staff, as well as consultants with specific expertise in the thematic areas and projects identified.