The dimension of territory is fundamental in the construction of identity and meaning. However, the internet, social networks, and new technologies have shattered traditional physical perimeters. The process of European integration, the introduction of the single currency and the free exchange of products and people have redrawn the old borders irreversibly. These phenomena also redefine our belonging: it is the very idea of territory that must be revisited. Research shows an articulated identity. The population feels that it belongs to Italy, but also to Europe. And the two aspects coexist simultaneously. We are Italian-European. But we give little credit to its institutions, and even less to national ones. We live in a common house to which we feel we belong, but we have little trust in its structure and governance. Witness the existence of a spread between identity, on the one hand, and trust, on the other.
First, the sense of territorial identity was probed. In the first instance, ghe Italians do not identify themselves in a single area, rather a multiple identity emerges that is simultaneously constructed on several levels. One is certainly mainly Italian (31.2%), but at the same time European (28.1%) and also belonging to the whole world (24.4%). The space of the region (8.2%) and of one's own town or village (8.2%) are decidedly less relevant than the previous ones. Could it be otherwise in an age when thanks to the Internet, tablets or smartphones we can at any time and place connect with any part of the globe, see what is happening at our antipodes, communicate at any time of the day? This constant being online cannot but produce a rewriting of our boundaries (not only mental) and, therefore, of our identities: which can no longer be univocal, but are progressively being redefined. We are Italian, but at the same time we like (or would like) to be Spanish, French, German, because we appreciate certain aspects of those territories, we would like to have them too, we have experienced them by visiting them. The same objects we wear and use on a daily basis come from different parts of the world, and so does the food we eat, the television channels we watch. We live in a large global condo, with all its positive and negative aspects. Trying to construct a synthesis of territorial affiliations, we can outline 5 profiles. The "Italian-global' (39.0%) constitute the largest group and combine a national identity with a European or global one. They are followed by the "cosmopolitans' (21.0%)those who recognise themselves exclusively as world and European citizens. I "glocal' (18.4%) are jointly identified on a regional/local level with a European/world level. A similar share (17,5%) is that of the 'Italian-local' in which we find those who combine national identity with regional/local identity. Finally, more marginal are the "localists' (4.1%) that is, those who express only a regional and country affiliation. Italians, therefore, manifest a higher sense of belonging to Italy and Europe, in particular, perhaps than we are led to suppose.
