Observatory on Insularity
The (re)introduction in our Constitution of the principle of insularity (Article 119, paragraph 6) is recent (2022), thanks to a popular initiative constitutional bill promoted by Sardinian citizens. It provides that the Republic recognises the peculiarities of islands and undertakes to promote suitable measures to remove the disadvantages arising from island status.
In Italy, the island phenomenon is very significant. There are approximately 800 Italian islands on which more than 7 million people live. Equally relevant is the island phenomenon at European level, with over 20 million inhabitants and as many as three EU Member States that are islands. What is lacking, however, is a definition of islands and also development models useful for imagining a full valorisation of these realities, which very often suffer from backwardness and depopulation.
Within this framework, the Eurispes Observatory on Insularity has been set up with the aim of collecting useful documentation to promote possible development models that can contribute to revitalising the island condition, allowing it to become, instead of a penalisation, an opportunity. The Observatory also intends to study foreign best practices in order to enable the institutions to undertake actions to relaunch and enhance our islands. The objective is also to participate in the ascendant phase of standardisation on the subject.
The Observatory is coordinated by Prof. Aldo Berlinguer, Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Cagliari and can count on the participation of various authoritative experts in different disciplines.