Catania Smart: INWIT and Fondazione Italia Digitale for the Cities of the Future

On 22 September, in Catania, the event “Catania Smart: Building the City of the Future” was held. The meeting, promoted by Fondazione Italia Digitale and INWIT, took place at the Teatro Hall of the Palazzo della Cultura in Via Vittorio Emanuele 121, from 11:30 to 13:00.
This initiative represented a strategic opportunity dedicated to the theme of smart cities and the challenges of urban innovation, exploring how cities can evolve to become more intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive, responding to the needs of citizens and seizing the opportunities of the digital transition.
The objective was, therefore, to evaluate perspectives for territorial transformation, enhancing ongoing initiatives and promoting new synergies.
Through a roundtable, the event involved the Municipality of Catania, the Sicilian Region, the University of Catania, public companies, and actors from the business world.

Francesco Di Costanzo, President of Fondazione Italia Digitale, emphasized the importance of resuming the Smart City tour from Southern Italy:

“Catania and Sicily are experiencing a phase of digital awakening. The city of Etna can become an avant-garde laboratory for smart city models conceived on a Mediterranean scale, able to unite territorial identity, creativity, and sustainability.”

Michelangelo Suigo, Director of External Relations, Communication and Sustainability at INWIT, highlighted the role of the company:

“With the Smart City Tour we aim to involve the various stakeholders in the path of digital enablement of the main Italian cities. Thanks to our ecosystem of digital infrastructures, we meet the growing need for connectivity and smart solutions. The goal of ‘Catania Smart’ is to strengthen the dialogue among institutions, universities, enterprises and citizens, to build together a shared agenda to support communities.”

The event opened with greetings and introduction from Enrico Trantino, Mayor of the Municipality of Catania, and Livio Gigliuto, Director of the Scientific Committee of Fondazione Italia Digitale.

The roundtable participants included: Viviana Lombardo, Councilor of the City of Catania with responsibility for Digitalization; Michelangelo Suigo, Director of External Relations, Communication and Sustainability at INWIT; Anna Rita D’Urso, Credit Agricole Italia – Managing Director of Le Village by Credit Agricole Sicilia; Giacomo Bellavia, CEO of SCMC – “Azienda Speciale Servizi Città Metropolitana di Catania”; Gaetano Garufo, Commercial Manager of AMTS – municipal public transport company; Antonio Perdichizzi, President and Founder of Isola Catania.

The meeting was moderated by Luca Ciliberti, journalist for Antenna Sicilia / Telecolor.