Fondazione Sanlorenzo Report Maps Challenges and Innovations Across Italy's Small Islands

A comprehensive report titled 'Piccole Isole,' promoted by Fondazione Sanlorenzo and produced by Glocal Impact Network, analyzes over 450 local projects across Italy's small inhabited islands. The study, initiated by the Perotti family foundation to support sustainable development, reveals stark realities: 33 of 35 inhabited islands lack hospitals, and 29 have no high schools, forcing residents to travel over 70 minutes on average for essential services. Islands like Procida, Pantelleria, Capraia, Ventotene, San Pietro, Giglio, Ponza, Ischia, Giannutri, Linosa, Stromboli, and Isola d'Elba face daily challenges balancing tourism, environmental protection, and community needs. Specific initiatives include community meetings on Ponza to create year-round jobs, youth retention studies on Capraia, and post-natural disaster reconstruction efforts on Ischia. The foundation's direct interventions include funding scholarships for young islanders, supporting writing workshops connecting island and mainland schools, and aiding local small businesses to survive beyond the tourist season. At Isola d'Elba, it financially assists medical travel for children under 16. Cesare Perotti, leading the foundation, describes these islands as unique contexts where geographical marginality coexists with strong cultural identity and resilient, innovative communities. The report aims to transform isolation from a hardship into an opportunity for new ways of inhabiting the future.