The revolution of the post offices, is called Polis project: a single place for many services in the most isolated areas. The top management of Poste Italiane presented it to over 5 mayors who arrived at the Nuvola di Roma from the over 7.000 small villages and municipalities involved. A crowded room with tricolor bands but also a presence of institutions at the highest levels, to underline the interest and attention paid to small local realities: the president Sergio Mattarella, the premier Giorgia Meloni, the president of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, the Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin, a large delegation of ministers starting with Giancarlo Giorgetti (Mef) and Adolfo Urso (Mimit). What is the Polis project? It is a project that envisages the transformation, digitization, efficiency and above all the offer of essential services for the peripheral areas of the country: high-speed connection, networking and smartworking possibilities above all, access to certificates and services of the Public Administration, without doing kilometers, using machines connected to the network and able to respond in real time. The Polis project was among the first to have obtained the seal of the EU within the Next Generation EU program and included in the Pnrr. It is worth 1,2 billion: 800 financed by the Pnrr, 400 by the Post Office.
Polis project: what it includes, who it is for
The Polis project is affectively a revolution for 6.933 post offices placed in 7.665 Italian Municipalities to which it is addressed. These are Municipalities with less than 15.000 inhabitants, villages that are often splendid but emptied and above all devoid of the most advanced services.
In the new offices, construction of which started in 2022 and will end in 2026, identity documents (from passport to health card, tax code), personal certificates, judicial and social security deeds and certificates will be distributed, as well as regional services such as reservations at the Cup or the election to the Rai fee or the ideas. Using machines – the so-called Post office totem (4.000 in all) – it will thus be possible to consult the criminal record but also immediately obtain a duplicate driving licence, 24 hours on 24, seven days out of seven.
The first 40 digital offices have already been completed, 1500 yards will be launched this year. The Polis project also includes the renewal of the external areas in 1000 offices and the installation of 4.000 charging stations for electric cars. For all offices, maximum attention is paid to environmental sustainability and CO2 reduction.
In the reorganization are also planned 250 coworking spaces: historic buildings (about twenty) or more modern which will be distributed throughout the Italian territory, currently owned by the Post Office, will be equipped and converted into shared work spaces.
Polis project: the commitment of the government and the top management of Poste
The Polis Project is "a service aimed at all Italians" began the president Bianca Maria Farina. And Giorgia Meloni took the opportunity to recall that her government “wants to unite Italy, guaranteeing everyone the right to access the jobs of the central and local administration of the state. There are no - he underlined with particular firmness - cities or citizens of series A and B, services of series A and B. There is only one Italy with equal services and rights for all, an Italy that does not surrender to the depopulation of small Municipalities which is an emergency in the South as well as in the North and in the Centre. There is only one Italy – she insisted – in which no one is excluded or left behind and which works to be more sustainable. Only a strategic company like Poste could make it happen”.
Adolfo Urso, Minister for Business and Made in Italy, and Paolo Zangrillo (Public Department) also emphasized the effort to reduce the digital divide by promoting access to digital services with the Polis through the Poste platform but also to reduce the digital and generational divide. Giancarlo Giorgetti (Mef) in turn underlines that the value of the project takes into account an important objective: “We need not only less bureaucracy but also good bureaucracy. And to look not only at the profit of our public companies but also at their social impact".
A message jumped at by Matthew Del Fante – CEO of Poste since 2017 – who speaks off the cuff and recalls that under his leadership the group has gone from 10,5 to 11,6 billion in revenues, from 450 to 800 million in investments, from 1,1 to 2,3 billion Mol. Above all – he observed – “We are a market company that has been able to transform itself, but we are aware of the role we play as a public company in the country system. And our effort has been to reconcile business objectives with social functions for the communities. Soon we will also offer electricity and gas”. When, Matteo Del Fante still does not reveal it. The choice of keep post offices open in small villages, providing them with more advanced services, reversing the course with respect to the previous management, goes in this direction.
And the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, greatly applauded, greeted the mayors and closed the day with a commendation: “In 160 years Poste has accompanied the development of the country. “The growing discomfort caused by the backlog of services due to the digital divide affects the daily life of citizens. Whether it's smaller islands, mountain municipalities or inland areas. A condition which, if it continued, would impoverish our country, deprive it of opportunities. This is why the Polis Project is important: it brings development and innovation.”
