Well, why not? The idea could seem weird, almost out of place, but why shouldn't we try to become one of the few Italian cities to offer a civic telematic network with a range of services from personal certificates to church timetables. Why not make the most of this service to offer up-to-date information for tourists arriving in town? The conditional is required, but Quartu Sant'Elena, in addition to being the third largest town in Sardinia, could without doubt be the first to open its doors to the future, to telematics and multimedia, through the enormous potential offered by Internet.

Why should a town like Quartu Sant'Elena be one of the few places in Italy to have an advanced technological multimedia system responding to the needs of citizens and tourists?
I'm tempted to answer with another question; why not? But beyond this answer, both I and all the others committed to this city administration project are convinced that using all possible means made available by technological innovation is certainly a very useful way to forge ahead with the renewal of Quartu. Many people often criticise us, saying that we make plans for initiatives that are too over ambitious for our town. I don't feel this is true. Or, even if it is, I don't think it's a mistake. Even from this point of view I think this town needs to be shaken up a bit, and to face up to some challenges to mark the new way ahead.

As mayor or administrator, you have surely noticed how important it is for towns to renew technologically, creating new structures able to respond to various needs of the population. Also in Quartu, information has become a necessity ...
I believe that the need to inform citizens comes not only from a clear political will, but from a moral and human duty because administrators should be deeply committed to improving the living standards of the citizens. From this standpoint, I believe our situation is a little different to that of other Italian towns. We know that these kinds of choices are being made initially by important cities with a certain administrative solidity. I'm thinking for example of Bologna, Milan, Rome and, if I'm not mistaken, Naples as well. I believe that in some of these cases this kind of "informatization", using telematics and access to communication networks, has been inspired by the need to make as many services as possible available for the inhabitants. We have a different need which is not only to make services available to citizens, but at the same time to use this instrument to improve our services. The starting points are different, and the beauty of telematics and computer systems is maybe also that while the means are the same, the objectives or starting points can differ.

In this way the community of Quartu can be seen all over the world by people using the network. What will they see?
The first premise will be to improve the rapport with the community. I don't know if it's going to happen, or when, but I like to maintain this experimental aspect. We give the citizens and the council the opportunity to improve this rapport, and we give them one more way of doing so. As far as entering a network which shows us to the world is concerned, the whole world will also be shown to us. The fact that we can see the world is very positive because it enriches our experience. That the world sees us is equally very positive not for a narcissistic reason, or even for the possible benefits to tourism, but for the fundamental reason that the world is watching and knowing this can be an incentive in our work. I believe this to be the fundamental element. On what we can give, I believe, bearing in mind my past as a history researcher, which is sadly only a past, a phrase of Lucian Fevre's which synthesised the term "civilization of a people" as "all the elements that constitute the life of a people and are in themselves positive and dignified." There is no such thing as splendid or less splendid civilization. The civilization of a people is a civilization. The civilization of a city is, paradoxically, the civilization of that city. We don't want to show that which we are not. We must show what we are, with our problems and also with our riches. Remembering that the whole world can see us, I believe we have numerous riches both from the point of view of the environment, and of history, culture and popular traditions which could be of interest to individual citizens, institutions and travel agents. So we think of economic returns and benefits to tourism. We are in fact thinking, in the way we present ourselves, of having a direct presence with the mayor and the council administrators. But of main importance will be the identifying features of our region, the underlying base of all this.

What rapport do you have in general with the world of communications?
I have a two-sided rapport. I also have a good rapport with the environment, because I judge important what the world of communications does in society. I am also critical, because communications are as important as they are dangerous, if not adequately managed. I see great difficulties in this respect, particularly in Italy - you can't give an unambiguous interpretation on the world of communications. This can actually be a positive fact, but from an ethical point of view there is still too much fragmentation and this doesn't allow the world of communications to play an important role in a positive sense in society.

On the same theme, is there a difference between Sardinia and the rest of Italy?
I don't really think so. At least not from an ethical and moral point of view. I refer to communications as journalism - if, instead, we widen the scope, I believe that Sardinia is maybe isolated from the rest of Italy, but isolated in a positive sense. I believe that here, in the field of communications in general, a series of positive experiences have developed which no-one elsewhere in the rest of Italy is doing. Look for example at Video On Line in the last year, and there are more.

Communicating means culture and development and also promotion and presenting things in a different light. The council of Quartu has shown a strong interest in this. With events such as Sc?? (illegibile) and other larger sporting and social events ...
I agree entirely. All of these initiatives obtain positive approval and responses from the inhabitants in the majority of cases. But often also criticism, sometimes right, sometimes wrong, because it's difficult for them to accept investments in culture and events in a town with so many problems, even if these investments seem laughably small for a town of 70,000 inhabitants. I actually feel that 1.5 billion Lire in a year is very little. Our goal in putting all these activities into action is not only a cultural one, and we could speak at length about the social importance it could have. Aside from this, and we mustn't forget it, there are promotional aspects. Quartu has always been considered a peripheral town, being so close to Cagliari, so this could bring it to the forefront. Of course, it's our intention to use communication technology to stimulate postive outcomes from investment in culture.

Are the citizens ready for this?
I would answer in the same way as at the beginning: why not?