Piazza Telematica

The term Piazza Telematica - Telematic Public square (Town square) is primarily used in Italy to evoke the renaissance of the Public square of the past, located in the heart of a quartiere or of a village, through an urban regeneration able to conjure the ancient functions of the social community gathering face to face of the Piazza , with the new telematic functions as is the case of telework, telemedicine, electronic commerce or lifelong learning.

History

1990

The term Piazza Telematica - Telematic Public square is used for the first time in newspapers and magazines in order to describe the Telecentres set up for the journalists in the 12 italian cities hosting the FIFA football World Cup 1990.

1993

Three engineers, three architects, a journalist and a universitary student found a technical-scientific and cultural non-profit organization with the final aim to promote the planning and the realization of a net of Piazze Telematiche as a tecnological-urban tool mostly based on the use of IT and of broad band fiber optic and wireless.

1994

Participation to the ACT-VILL project of the Direction XII Science and Technology of the European Union for the city of the XXI century corresponding to new concepts synthesised in three scenarios:

sustainable city, a city that internalise the problems it generates, solving them instead of transferring to other or to the future.

glocal city (global/local), a city with a better balance between the globalisation process and the ability to use local resources (glocalization).

post-modern or agora city, a human centred city with an harmonic relationship between the citizen and the urban space.

1995

Participation to the European conference Urban utopias: new tools for the renaissance of the European cities , promoted by the Direction XII Science and Technology of the European Union and hosted by the Municipality of Berlin.

1996

The proposal Piazze Telematiche network is presented for the first time at international level, to the World United Nations Conference on human settlements, at HABITAT II in Istanbul, in the session reserved to NGO and non-profit organizations.

1997

The European Union approves a funding to an Urban Pilot Project presented by the Municipality of Naples for the realization in this City of a net of Piazze Telematiche with the scope to experience new forms of support to the social cohesion, to promote the sustainable development, to improve people's living environment and to put in place a civic infrastructure for the universal access to the IT tools.

2004

The first european pilot project of a Piazza Telematica is opened to the general public in Naples (Italy) in the quartiere of Scampia.

Between 2005 and 2006, other Piazze Telematiche have been started up as is the case for the Piazza Telematica of the University Rome 3 (Italy) and the one of the Municipality of Schio.

In some situations, as is the case for the Piazza Telematica of the Municipality of Provaglio d' Iseo, the term Piazza Telematica is used in order to evoke a virtual space on the Internet open to all citizens for the exchange of ideas, proposals and participation, through forum and other web instruments, to the socio-cultural and economic life of the community.