INGV was established with Legislative Decree no. 381 of 29 September 1999 and on 29 September this year he will therefore be 20 years old. The founding decree established that the National Institute of Geophysics (ING) and the Vesuvius Observatory (OV), both belonging to the Ministry of the University of Scientific and Technological Research (MURST ), as well as the following three Institutes of the CNR: International Institute of Volcanology of Catania (IIV), Institute of Geochemistry of Fluids of Palermo (IGF), Institute of Research on Seismic Risk of Milan (IRRS). The decree also established that INGV became the headquarters and was to provide support to two research groups of the CNR: the National Group for Earthquake Defense (GNDT) and the National Group for Volcanology (GNV). These two Groups, which were born as a continuation of the Geodynamic Finalized Project (PFG) activity, were substantially financed by the Civil Protection Department (DPC) and promoted and coordinated Italian research for the evaluation and mitigation of seismic and volcanic risks, carried out by universities and research institutions such as INGV, OV and the CNR institutes mentioned above. At that time I was Undersecretary of State for the Coordination of Civil Protection and I had previously founded and directed the GNV. In this capacity I promoted, in agreement with the MURST, the legislative decree which established the INGV. Various reasons were at the basis of the measure.
The PFG's research had shown that Italy was exposed to a very high seismic risk, essentially due to the very serious delay in adopting a correct seismic classification of the national territory, on which the high seismic vulnerability of public and private buildings depended and infrastructure. Equally high was the volcanic risk due to the frequency of the eruptions of some Sicilian volcanoes, due to the violently explosive nature of those in Campania and due to the high population density in the highly dangerous areas. In the 80s and 90s, delicate crises had to be faced due to unrest phenomena at Vulcano, Campi Flegrei and the eruptions of Etna. Refine knowledge on earthquakes and volcanoes, develop geophysical and geochemical monitoring networks, improve risk assessment techniques for the purpose of their mitigation, had become social objectives of primary importance in such a vulnerable country. On the other hand, over the years the difficulty of obtaining from the CNR the means (financing, personnel) necessary to grow and develop research on earthquakes and volcanoes and related risks had been concretely verified. It was thought that a new autonomous body that brought together all the subjects who carried out research on these topics would be able to obtain the necessary resources from the government (Ministry, DPC).
This then actually happened. In these 20 years, INGV has enormously developed its seismic, geodetic and geochemical monitoring networks; has created high-quality specialized laboratories; it has significantly increased its scientific staff, also guaranteeing them the conditions for appropriate career progress; has developed high quality research, with very high scientific productivity. In short, it has become a prestigious research institution with a solid reputation also at an international level. I believe that none of the research bodies which, even in 1999, expressed doubts, concerns or outright hostility to the founding decree of INGV, can today regret having become a section of it. Other aspects are less satisfactory.
An objective that was intended to be pursued in the founding decree was to promote close scientific collaboration between university researchers and those of the new research body. This is to be able to make use of all the best intelligences in the research activity, and so that the universities, directly participating in the growth of knowledge, could adequately prepare future generations of researchers. We had as a reference the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) which had managed to create a perfect symbiosis between its own extra-university and university staff, who worked together within the numerous INFN Sections created in the universities. It is to achieve this objective that the legislative decree established that the activity of INGV was also carried out in collaboration with the Universities (art. 2, paragraph 1) and provided for the possibility of setting up INGV Sections at the Universities (art. 5, paragraph 7). Unfortunately, this objective was not pursued: in the first years of life, INGV withdrew into itself, proving to be unwilling to collaborate externally. The two Research Groups, GNDT and GNV, which maintained a close link with the University, were quickly cancelled; no INGV Section has been created at a University, at least not of the type in perfect symbiosis like those of the INFN. Another neglected issue, despite being explicitly provided for by the founding decree (art. 2, paragraph 1), is that of risk research, which would have required INGV to equip itself with the technical skills (earthquake engineering) necessary to deal with issues relating to vulnerability of the structures, perhaps through agreements with specialized university centres. INGV, on the other hand, confined itself only to issues of danger, thus leaving the country unguarded on the more delicate social front. Other subjects have entered this void, but the fact remains that in Italy hazards (seismic and volcanic) and vulnerability (seismic and volcanic) are not treated by the same research structure and I fear that this may have affected the quantity and quality of the results . Twenty years after its birth, I think that the time has come for INGV, which has now become a solid research institution with a strong reputation, to reflect on its future role at the service of the country.
Why not open up more to collaborations with universities?
Why not go beyond the self-inflicted limit of danger, deciding to play that decisive role in risk assessment and mitigation that Italy still needs so badly?