Italian Government Research Articles

Restoration in Zadar, Split and Pula between the Rapallo and Paris Treaties

The article discusses cases of restoration in Zadar (Zara), Split (Spalato) and Pula (Pola), performed in three historical periods by Italian and Yugoslav authorities. The interventions are located within a timeframe outlined by diplomatic arrangements between the Italian and South Slavic states, made in Rapallo in 1920 and Paris in 1947. They were revisionist, selective, discriminative, substitutive, integrative and reconstructive, and they are seen as reflexes of political realities and professional standards in fascist and early republican post-war Italy, as well as in the early communist Popular Republic of Croatia. The article also discusses the role of intellectuals in political agendas of the period under discussion.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospitalization and Interventional Procedures for Cardiovascular Diseases during the First Wave in Italy.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been responsible for an epidemic of devastating proportion, and it has represented a challenge for worldwide healthcare systems with the need of resources reallocation in order to face epidemic spread. Italy was one of the hardest hit countries by COVID-19, and the Italian government adopted strict rules to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as national lockdown and home quarantine; moreover, the Italian healthcare system had to rapidly re-organize the diagnostic and therapeutic pathways, with a reallocation of health resources and hospital beds, in order to manage COVID-19 patients. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of the effects of the first pandemic wave on cardiovascular assistance in Italy with the purpose of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian health system.

Daily routine and habits during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: An observational survey.

Between March-May 2020, the Italian Government applied restrictive measures to reduce the risk of contagion, fostering a potential condition of occupational deprivation. A digital survey was administered in June 2020 including closed and open questions. The goal was to report how the first Italian lockdown affected daily routine. 648 surveys were valid. Most respondents were workers and spent lockdown at home. Before quarantine, the most representative occupations were working and housekeeping; the significant ones were working and meeting friends/relatives. Wellbeing meant meeting friends/relatives and hobbies/interests. During lockdown, respondents dedicated themselves to housekeeping and working; meaningful occupations were working and cooking. All data was stratified according to age and perceived wellbeing; open questions were categorized by the researchers. A daily routine in compliance with lockdown restrictions required a change in habits. Time was used for occupations not strictly contentful; finance and work gained significance. It is to hypothesize that the idea of wellbeing was deeply altered. The study focuses on a slice of everyday life in times of emergency, it highlights people adaptability and their experiences according to age and future plans. Occupational justice emerges as a strong topic: the environment influences wellbeing, habits, and self-perception.

Autonomy Italian Style: Sovereignty in Südtirol/Alto Adige

A critical legal thinking analysis of autonomy in Südtirol/Alto Adige is useful for rethinking Italian sovereignty in the province. Initiating with articles 5, 6, and 116 of the Italian Constitution (1948) and subsequently with two statutes of autonomy (1948 and 1972) with several amendments, a particular system of law was constructed in the context of the Italian regional state.Several historical events have also determined the current Südtirol/Alto Adige autonomous status. Most notably during the aftermath of World War I, it was subject to a change in sovereignty from Austria to Italy. Soon after, during the fascist period, a failed attempt at so-called Italianization dramatically lessened the rights of the Ladin and German-speaking majority. Moreover, following the devastation of World War II autonomy was granted but not fully accepted in its original form by the majority of the population in Südtirol/Alto Adige. As a consequence, the political movement for self-determination became more relevant and terrorist violence emerged. The international community stepped up to the conflict and the Italian government established a new form of autonomy that brought justice and peace.Thereafter, Südtirol/Alto Adige’s autonomy has received support and recognition from the United Nations, the European Union, and other international organizations.

Effectiveness of measures to preserve labour and childbirth companionship at the times of COVID-19 outbreak

IntroductionAlthough childbirth services were accessible after COVID-19 outbreak, the measures taken by the Italian Government for contagion containment required some restrictions on the presence of trusted persons for mothers, forcing them to isolation during hospitalization. To preserve companionship, the Regional Health Authority of Tuscany issued a resolution providing partners with the possibility to be present during labour and childbirth for non-asymptomatic women. ObjectivesIn this study, we: 1) analyse the impact of pandemic on companionship in terms of significant reduction of the possibility for women to be accompanied by a trusted person during labour and childbirth; and 2) ascertain if the regional resolution issued was effective in containing the reduction of companionship. MethodsWe performed an interrupted time series analysis to measure the variation of the possibility for women to be accompanied by a trusted person during labour and childbirth, in response to formalization of lock-down due to COVID-19 outbreak and the introduction of the regional resolution aimed at contrasting negative effects on companionship. Results and conclusionsThe ITS analysis showed that there was a significant decrease in the women-reported experience of companionship in the month of the formalization of lock-down, namely March 2020, followed by a slight increase in the upcoming months. A trend reversal was observed after May 2020, when the regional resolution was fully operational.

Українські біженці в Італії: діяльність та допомога Карітасу і асоціації «MIST-IL PONTE».

The relevance of the article is due to the need to create comfortable conditions for Ukrainian refugees in their places of temporary residence in Italy. Since the full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine by Russian troops, during February-July 2022, 288 refugees arrived in the city of Gubbio, region of Umbria, most of them women aged 30-45 and minor children. The article reveals the role of the cohesion of the local population, the Ukrainian diaspora, the consolidation of the efforts of state bodies and the informal sector. The purpose of the article is to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of Ukrainian refugees who turn to Caritas and the association “MIST-IL PONTE” in Gubbio for help. In the course of the research, general scientific methods were used: face-to-face survey, analysis, synthesis, generalization. The novelty is the opinion of Ukrainian refugees about the activities of Caritas in cooperation with the association “MIST-IL PONTE” determined for the first time, on the basis of a developed questionnaire. The significance of the Italian government’s support for Ukraine and its refugees has been revealed, in particular on the issues of providing Ukrainian refugees with the temporary protected status, a high level of necessary social, educational and medical services. The results of the survey of Ukrainian refugees, which were taken into account by Caritas and the association “MIST-IL PONTE” in their further work, were analyzed. Minor problems encountered by Ukrainian refugees during their stay in Italy and their causes are identified. The priority of creating comfortable living conditions, receiving social, including educational, services is substantiated, since a significant part of refugees are minors of preschool and school age. Focused attention on the fact that the development and implementation of various thematic activities by the “MIST-IL PONTE” association with the participation of Ukrainian refugees, especially children, contributes to the recovery of their psychological state, rapid adaptation to society, learning the Italian language, culture, customs and traditions of the local population and indicates the solidarity of the Italian people in supporting Ukraine in the fight against the Russian aggressor. The reasons why refugees intend to stay in Italy have been established. Some of them plan to return in a couple of months, and others - after the end of the war in Ukraine. In general, most Ukrainians have already returned. The variety of services received, the constant assistance of Caritas and the professionalism of its volunteers are highly rated by Ukrainian refugees. Caritas in Gubbio operates in 8 parishes, where it has its branches. Thanks to the functioning of the national web-platform, a single registration database has been created, which contains general information about persons, their status and needs. This specificity of activity ensures the provision of high-quality and quick assistance to everyone who is registered.

Establishing Judicial Precedents Through Advisory Opinions of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract The recent practice of the European Court of Human Rights to follow, in its case law, legal statements made in the exercise of its new advisory competence pursuant to Additional Protocol No. 16 raises some considerable issues. The most important of such issues regards the possibility for principles of law established by the Strasbourg Court to be recognized as judicial precedents within the European Convention of Human Rights system, which is the object of this paper. For this purpose, the analysis will focus not only on the approach of the European Court of Human Rights, but also on that of the Italian judicial authorities, which developed a particularly innovative case law at this regard. Finally, it will also consider the experience of other international judicial bodies, in order to draw some general conclusions on the contribution of advisory opinions to the development of international law.

Faktor Domestik Penolakan Italia terhadap Pengungsi dari Afrika Utara tahun 2015-2019

The wave of refugees that was initiated by the Arab Spring phenomenon has increased the number of refugee arrivals in Italy starting in 2015. Refugees from North Africa who use the Central Mediterranean Route to reach mainland Italy pose a new threat to the Italian government related to the refugee crisis that occurred. The anti-refugee stance formed by the Italian government which was implemented through the Closed Port Policy and the Salvini Decree-Law on Immigration is a policy that was formed after the victory of the right-wing party in Italy. Italy's repressive policies, which exclude international law from the 1951 Convention and the European Union's CEAS on the issue of refugees, become an interesting topic to study how the domestic. level has a major influence on the rejection of refugees by the Italian government. In explaining how the role of the domestic level influences foreign policy, the author uses the concept of Neoclassical Realism by Gideon Rose which is supported through a qualitative method approach with data collection techniques in the form of literature studies. Based on the discussion and analysis, there are three points on how the domestic level plays a major role in the policy of rejecting refugees from North Africa. First, the use of the Put Italian First identity as a nationalist spirit generator by Salvini. Second, there is pressure from interest groups and parties to adopt their interests. Third, the anti-refugee factor of Salvini's leadership made the government exclude international law on refugees.

The Forensic Tradition in Milan’s Civic Mortality Registers

From the late fourteenth to the seventeenth century, many Italian cities and towns responded to recurrent plague by keeping municipal death registers. Different in content and character from the most celebrated form of early modern mortality records, the London Bills of Mortality, Italian authorities named, rather than counted, persons who died. This municipal practice illustrates the invention of secular death investigation systems in an era of recurring plague. Milan’s uniquely detailed civic death registers, 1452 to 1525, display the underlying forensic character of such record-keeping, rather than the public health context in which such records have long been understood. Diagnosing the cause and manner of death, the fundamental objective of forensic medical inquiries, exposed epistemological uncertainties that academic medicine largely avoided for the entirety of the early modern era. How could one be certain that a death was caused by a particular affliction? Our death investigation practices are now far more sophisticated, but in the current, tenacious SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we still struggle to measure and record the human costs of crisis mortality.

Assessing the Italian Innovative Start-Ups Performance with a Composite Index

This paper aims to assess the profitability and employees’ productivity of Italian innovative start-ups with a new composite index: the Start-ups Performance score (SP-score). In recent years, the Italian government has made several efforts to foster the economy, establishment, and growth of start-ups. Specifically, the issuing of the Italian Start-up Act in 2012 offers a unique opportunity to examine the Italian setting, given the special conditions that the government granted to the start-ups. The latter obtain generic benefits, tax reductions and hiring facilitations if they meet specific criteria granting the status (label) of “innovative” by law. Based on a sample of Italian start-ups firms (ISPs) and financial statement data for the period 2016–2020, we test whether the performance of the Italian start-ups which are granted the status of “innovative” is higher compared to start-ups without the mentioned status (NISPs). We measure the firm’s performance by building a composite index which synthesizes both profitability and employees’ productivity (controlling for the firms’ size), and find that the ISPs report higher SP-score compared to the NISPs. In addition, we examine whether the SP-score is higher (or lower) among Innovative start-ups located in different regional areas. The derivation of the composite indicator (SP-score) allows a clear and effective evaluation of several characteristics, permitting a more comprehensive understanding of the data that support the strategic choices of management and localization entrepreneurship policies. In addition, our study highlights a certain homogeneity of innovative start-ups’ performance among the Italian territories, which overcomes the classic dualistic division between Northern and Southern regions.

Renewable energy, carbon capture & sequestration and hydrogen solutions as enabling technologies for reduced CO2 energy transition at a national level: an application to the 2030 Italian national energy scenarios

Globally, climate change, fossil fuel depletion and greenhouse emissions are fundamental problems requiring massive effort from the international scientific community to be addressed and solved. Following the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package (CEP) guidelines, the Italian Government has established challenging and tight objectives both on energy and climate matter to be targeted by 2030. Accordingly, research activities on different topics are carried out in Italy, looking at the installation of intermittent renewable energy systems (IRES), implementation of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) on existing power plants and hydrogen technology and infrastructure penetration for accomplishing the end-users demands. The optimal integration of the above-mentioned technologies is one of the most effective weapons to address these objectives. The paper investigates different energy scenarios for meeting the Italian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) 2030 targets showing how the combined implementation of around +12 GW of IRES and +6 GW of electrolyzers compared to the national estimates simultaneously with the CCS of around 10 Mt of CO2 per year can reduce the CO2 emissions up to about 247 Mt/year. Thanks to the adoption of the well-established software platform EnergyPlan, the integration of IRES plants, CCS and hydrogen-based technologies have been explored, and the most successful results for concurrently reducing the impact of industrial, transport, residential and energy sectors and mitigating the greenhouse emissions substantially relies on the diversifications. Results show both the technical and economic convenience of a 2030 energy scenario which implements properly hydrogen, IRES and CCS penetration in the energy system, meeting the NECP 2030 targets and maintaining both the over-generation of the power plants below 5 TWh and the initial capital expenditure to be sustained for this scenario to occur below +80% compared to the 2019 energy scenario.

Італійське «економічне диво»: успішний досвід управління повоєнним відновленням

The research is based on the historical experience of rebuilding Italy’s economy, destroyed as a result of World War II. The purpose of the article is historical and economic assessment of the process of restoration of the Italian economy in the post-war period for extrapolation of this experience in the revival of the economy of Ukraine at the present stage. The study results in analysis of the main reforms, highlighting the peculiarities of the Italian government’s economic policy and revealing the consequences of internal and external efforts in economic recovery, as well as substantiation of prospects of the use of this historical experience in modern Ukraine. The article analyzes the specifics of the post-war revival of the Italian economy by the government of Christian Democrats, who introduced a policy of strict regulation of the monetary system, state intervention in industrial policy, promoted the development of innovative entrepreneurship, creation of high-tech industries. It was proved that the agrarian reform, which laid the foundations for the formation of efficient farm production, helped market reorientation of agriculture in general. Italian experience of leveling regional imbalances in economic development for national integrity and unity is useful for Ukraine. The correlation of external patronage influence and internal efforts in the rapid rise of the Italian economy, which was called «economic miracle», was revealed. It is justified to use the strategy of economic development of the post-war Italy in preparing programs of economic reconstruction of Ukraine destroyed by the aggressive war of Putin's russia.

The assessment of earthquake hazard in Italy: a review

We present a review of the assessment of earthquake hazard in Italy, with special reference to the relationships between hazard models and building codes. After early attempts at hazard assessment in the 19th century, the 28 December 1908, Messina Straits earthquake prompted the inception of the first national seismic legislation, passed in early 1909. Nevertheless, the official building code started to be based on a truly scientific background only after 1980, when the catastrophic Irpinia (southern Italy) earthquake forced the qualified authority to accept a science-based assessment (statistics on the earthquake catalogue data) to support the implementation of the new national seismic zonation. Later on, between 1985 and 2000, the two basic components of seismic hazard assessment, namely the earthquake record and the distribution of earthquake sources, were greatly developed through investigations carried out by the Gruppo Nazionale Difesa dai Terremoti and by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica. Along with the improvement of basic data, the Italian seismological community started developing a new hazard model (PS4), based on the concept of seismotectonic probabilism, aimed at supplying the Italian Government with a solid reference frame for updating the seismic zonation and building code. Nevertheless, this goal was achieved only two decades later: on 31 October 2002 a moderate-size earthquake caused the death of 27 children and a teacher in a collapsed school of southern Italy, forcing the qualified authority to take a major step of modernization for the second time in 22 years. The entire Italian territory, including areas of rare and sparse seismicity, was subdivided into four seismic zones, mainly on the basis of PS4 results. In 2004, the Italian seismological community developed MPS04, a fully updated hazard model that was initially conceived only in view of updating the seismic zonation. In 2007, MPS04 was extended to provide design spectra for a new building code, which was finally adopted in 2009, following the disastrous L’Aquila (central Italy) earthquake. The experience of the European project for seismic hazard assessment named SHARE, completed in 2013, represented a step forward and put the basis for a new project, termed MPS19, designed specifically to provide a sound basis for updating the Italian building code.

The role of German media and the (European) public sphere: Framing biases of the press using the example of the Italian sovereign debt crisis 2018

During times of crisis, the press plays a crucial role in communicating and negotiating the crisis. Considering Germany’s strong economic role in the EU, the German (media) perspective on European economic policy issues has a major influence on Europe. In 2018, Italy’s debt crisis posed the risk of a new euro crisis and a domino effect on other countries. Contrasting views of how to resolve economic crises opposed each other, with the Maastricht criteria at the center. Despite high debt, the Italian government pursued a Keynesian policy by increasing the deficit to stimulate economic growth. The European Commission, however, insisted on neoliberal policies and compliance with the criteria. This study discusses the (non)emergence of a European public sphere through the economic policy framing of the Italian sovereign debt crisis. Using quantitative content analysis, the relative prevalence of frames rooted in competing economic policy paradigms (neoliberal/Keynesian) in press coverage is examined. The results show that the neoliberal paradigm and the call for austerity dominate coverage, indicating a possible European public sphere. However, the biased media framing in favor of the European Commission’s and German government’s interests partly contributes to strengthening the nationalistic perspective on this European issue. Overall, the press failed to present the issue in a solution-oriented and pluralistic manner.

Mandatory vaccination requirements and the green Covid-19 certificate: a fundamental rights perspective in Italy

Since the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in March 2020, governments worldwide have resorted to various measures to manage and contain the spread of the virus. In Italy, for example, severe restrictions on freedom of movement were enforced from the very beginning, and they lasted until the vaccination campaign picked up in Spring 2021. At that point, the executive started to lift the most severe measures progressively, and, at the same time, it began to use other legal instruments. For instance, besides progressively enforcing a compulsory vaccination requirement for some categories of people only, the executive introduced a novelty in the Italian legal system: the Green Covid-19 Certificate (or ‘Green Pass’), which not only became a condition to access venues and make use of services, but it also became a condition for the enjoyment or exercise of fundamental rights, including the rights to education and work. The aim of this paper is to assess the Italian Government’s decisions through the lenses of liberal democratic constitutionalism, reflecting upon the balance that was struck between public health and individual fundamental rights. This kind of assessment is especially important in times of emergency, as they are typically defined by fast-tracked and temporary decisions which may, nevertheless, “inadvertently” become embedded in the constitutional legal order.

Prevalence of Spinal Muscular Atrophy in the Era of Disease-Modifying Therapies: An Italian Nationwide Survey.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SMA and treatment prescription in Italy. An online survey was distributed to 36 centers identified by the Italian government as referral centers for SMA. Data on the number of patients with SMA subdivided according to age, type, SMN2 copy number, and treatment were collected. One thousand two hundred fifty-five patients with SMA are currently followed in the Italian centers with an estimated prevalence of 2.12/100,000. Of the 1,255, 284 were type I, 470 type II, 467 type III, and 15 type IV with estimated prevalence of 0.48, 0.79, 0.79 and 0.02/100,000, respectively. Three patients with SMA 0 and 16 presymptomatic patients were also included. Approximately 85% were receiving one of the available treatments. The percentage of treated patients decreased with decreasing severity (SMA I: 95.77%, SMA II: 85.11%, SMA III: 79.01%). The results provide for the first time an estimate of the prevalence of SMA at the national level and the current distribution of patients treated with the available therapeutical options. These data provide a baseline to assess future changes in relation to the evolving therapeutical scenario.

Vloga političnih beguncev iz Slovenije pri oživljanju slovenstva v zamejstvu v Italiji

The present Slovenian communities in the Italian borderlands have undergone extraordinary changes in the size and composition of their populations over the last century. After World War II, a large number of political refugees from Slovenia also settled there. Since the Italian authorities did not grant them Italian citizenship, most of them emigrated across the ocean after a few years. The rest became actively involved in the social and cultural life of the borderlands. Certainly, the refugees played a very prominent role in the culturally deprived Slovenian community in the Primorska region, which was the result of a quarter of a century of fascist oppression. This applies in particular to the education, media, cultural activities and religious life, where traces of their work are evident.

Reflections on the healing power of collaborative filmmaking

Reflections on the healing power of collaborative filmmaking

Medical Residents' Behaviours toward Compulsory COVID-19 Vaccination in a Tertiary Hospital in Italy.

To maintain safety conditions in the provision of care and assistance, and to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients, the Italian government required compulsory COVID-19 vaccination for HCWs, including medical residents (MRs). The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19 vaccination coverage in MRs in a large tertiary hospital in Italy, before and after the introduction of compulsory vaccination, according to demographic characteristics and specific residency. A database on COVID-19 vaccination status and infection of resident medical doctors was created. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were carried out on the data. A total of 1894 MRs were included in the study. Being vaccinated in the same hospital as the residency program was significantly related to the year of residency and being enrolled in a frontline residency. A significant association between compliance with the compulsory primary cycle vaccination and vaccination in the hospital residency was observed. Being enrolled in the second, third, and last years of residency, and in a frontline residency, were predictive of being vaccinated in the residency hospital. Almost 100% of the MRs participating in the study were vaccinated against COVID-19. Compulsory vaccination of HCWs, alongside greater and clearer information about the risks and benefits of vaccination, represents an important booster to ensure public health and to promote quality and safety of care.

Addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: A content analysis of government social media platforms in England and Italy during 2020–2021

ObjectivesThis study investigates how England's and Italy's Public Health Governmental Departments addressed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) on social media platforms. Study designA conventional content analysis of the social media accounts of Public Health England (PHE), currently the UK Health Security Agency, and the Italian Ministry of Health (IMH) were performed during December 1st, 2020–April 30th, 2021. MethodsA total of 531 and 110 posts were extracted from the accounts of PHE and the IMH respectively. ResultsSimilar themes were identified in the government social media posts from both countries, however, significant differences in theme distribution were noted. In England, the most common theme around COVID-19 vaccinations was the vaccine rollout (51%), while themes aimed at addressing VH specifically (44.8%) were debunking vaccine myths (10.5%), reaching/addressing minorities (8.5%), institutional encouragement (13.4%), and benefits of vaccines (12.4%). In contrast, Italian government posts majorly discussed COVID-19 vaccine news and updates (27.3%). Posts addressing VH (62.7%) focused on encouraging vaccination (37.3%), describing the benefits of vaccines (17.3%), debunking myths (4.5%), and communication campaigns (3.6%). ConclusionsApproximately half of British and Italian government social media posts on COVID-19 were related to addressing vaccine hesitancy. Although similar themes were evident, there were also themes unique to each country.