Let’s Open Schools

Why Italy’s Summer of Gridlock Is No Accident Summer is the season that puts Italy’s transport system to the toughest test, exposing it to delays and breakdowns. Yet it would be wrong to think congestion—the real root of the problem—strikes only in the summer. It’s a year-round issue, especially in cities. The trouble is, Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan pours most of its funds into big new infrastructure projects, when a smarter strategy would be to “think small”: maintaining what already exists and, above all, strengthening local public transport, the daily lifeline for millions of people.

The exodus of doctors and nurses, the emergency room crisis, and the forgotten lesson of the pandemic People are living longer, but the inequality in aging is growing. There are increasing disparities in longevity and the chances of having a long, healthy life, influenced by income, occupation, and place of birth. Meanwhile, young people are facing rising levels of depression. Italy’s universal healthcare system faces significant challenges. During the pandemic, we received nearly 200 billion euros from Europe. It was expected that we would use these substantial resources to prepare for these challenges. Instead, emergency medicine is in a constant state of crisis, with shortages of doctors in many specialties and an even greater shortage of nurses. With the Recovery and Resilience National Plan, we have taken on an additional 123 billion euros of debt and have no more funds for healthcare. Despite this, there are still many improvements that can be made even with limited resources.