rgosolo, not by chance. The Sardinian "band" is that of the Mayor, Pasquale Mereu, the story is that of state impositions that are repeated, from Pratobello to Saccargia and back. Then, it was June and July 1969, the Palaces of Rome had decided to militarily occupy the pastures of Barbagia, complete with bayonets and heavy vehicles. They wanted to make it a sort of Teulada in the middle of the Gennargentu, partly to make the weight of the State felt on the "rebel" Island, partly to complete the work of transforming the land of the Nuraghi into that of servitude.
The No to impositions
It went badly for him. The women and men, children of those countries, rebelled, forerunners in Sardinia of the peaceful salt march of Gandhi's memory. Already at dawn of those days they left the streets of the town to reach and occupy, hand in hand, those pleasant pastures on the slopes of the "great mountain". Face to face, back straight, head held high and eyes wide open. Until the unconditional surrender of the stars, forced to abandon "the mural town", that of the peaceful revolt of Pratobello. The state posters, complete with the occupation decree, in large letters on paper tarnished by time, are now in a wall display case in the town hall of Orgosolo, a perennial memory and indomitable warning for the future. It is here, in the neighborhoods of the Blessed Antonia Mesina, of the murals of the great artistic and revolutionary ferment, that a new page of the "modern" struggle of the Sardinian people against the new State imposition, that of energetic-speculative servitude, decided , today as then, in the powerful Palaces of Rome. The Mayor of Orgosolo, Pasquale Mereu, with Orgolese blood, a sardist at heart, not inclined to salaaming, outspoken and decisive, breaks the deadlock. It is he who takes the initiative to propose a popular initiative law.
Pratobello's law
It immediately becomes the "Law of Pratobello", due to the analogies with that historic popular revolt. It becomes so not only for the reference to the place, but above all for the two key elements of this history: the state impositions, yesterday as today, and the democratic and popular reaction to reject the occupation. Pasquale Mereu follows "the Mural method": that of dialogue, of the involvement of Mayors, committees, citizens, associations. To do so, he delivers and disseminates the text of that bill which outlines a strong and clear path, decisive and without hesitation, the only one to block the invasion of wind turbines and infinite expanses of photovoltaic panels in the land of Sardinia, starting from those multinationals who want to forever scar the proscenium of Orgosolo and Gennargentu, Montiferru, Planargia, Sulcis, Marmilla, Logudoro and Campidano.
The courage of the truth
The Mayor has courage: the law just approved by the Regional Council does not block anything, on the contrary it allows fixers to get their projects approved, leaving us disarmed, with our backs to the wall. It is for this reason that the popular initiative law proposal put forward by the mayor of Orgosolo, now being examined by the committees and administrators who may wish to integrate it, has an essential cornerstone: the primary competence of the Sardinian Region in "urban planning" matters. A basic philosophy without frills, without wasting time, without gaps for the lords of the shovels and panels. A strategic law, with immediate effect, which cancels everything that does not decide, everything that is transitory, destroying subtle openings for nefarious speculation, to give certainty to Municipalities, citizens and territories. The premise is the total ineffectiveness of the law just passed by the Regional Council. It does not block the authorization processes, it allows multinationals and various fixers to obtain any kind of authorization, it does not even block "the implementation" given that all the construction sites in Sardinia, those that are opening up, those that have just begun and those at an advanced stage , they are all marching at full speed without anyone having blocked them, or intending to do so, despite the law having already come into force.
Urgent rule
For this reason, an urgent, effective regulation is needed immediately, capable of immediately returning to the Region its legislative "power" in the "Government of the Territory", a primary matter entrusted to Sardinia through article 3 letter "f" of the Sardinian Statute, l The only matter that the Constitutional Court, in its latest ruling on 7 June, deemed impregnable, despite the appeal brought by Palazzo Chigi.
The fixed points
The reasoning of the «Pratobello Law» is punctuated by fixed points. The first issue is that of skills: at stake are the "Protection of the Landscape and Cultural Heritage" and the subject of "Urban Planning". The first is a competence to be "shared" with the State, the second is a rule of primary competence of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. The law approved by the Regional Council bases everything on the matter of "protection", to be shared with Rome, providing for a transitional regime in which, for just 18 months, there would only be a " ban on the construction " of wind turbines and photovoltaic panels. A rule that in no way stops the authorization procedures, placing Sardinia under an "authorization bubble" which after a year and a half would see the island invaded without any kind of obstacle. A provision that does not actually stop even the realizations, given that what has already been authorized cannot be blocked, unless explicitly cancelled, with all the consequences of the case. Sardinia's competence over the protection of the landscape, in fact, although clearly sanctioned by the implementation rules of 1975, from 2007 onwards, as clarified in 2021 by the Constitutional Court with sentence 257, has been eroded, dividing it in an asphyxiating way with the State, increasingly invasive and prominent, to the point of effectively canceling it.
State supremacy
Added to this is a further element which makes the law just passed totally useless: the State, in fact, with various regulations, not least that of the "Consolidated Law on authorization procedures" has reiterated that renewable energies, shovels and panels, have the " absolute pre-eminence over both landscape and cultural heritage. A theme, that of the supremacy of "renewables", compared to the values included in article 9 of the Constitution, already clarified by both constitutional and administrative sentences, making the attempt to undermine that approach with one matter among other things useless " shared” with the State. In all judicial and legislative provisions regarding "renewables", however, the "urban planning" competence is preserved which in the case of Sardinia is primary and therefore cannot be overridden with ordinary State regulations or decrees. It is on this crucial point that the bill now being examined by municipalities and committees is based.
Urgent times
There won't be much time, because Rome has decided to speed up all the procedures for the invasion of the island. To transfer the popular initiative to the Regional Council, at least ten thousand signatures will be needed, but Mayors and Committees could aspire to a much higher avalanche of support precisely to give even more weight to the action started "from below", with widespread involvement of the Sardinians. The difference between the law approved by the Sardinian assembly and the one advanced in Orgosolo is substantial. The first, the one approved, decides not to decide, moving the clock to 18 months, risking in the meantime an avalanche of authorizations, relying on the great scam of suitable areas, given that by law even the "unsuitable" ones would be suitable, albeit with procedures ordinary authorizations. The second, that of "Pratobello", uses the urban planning law to "prohibit" wind and photovoltaic invasion in all areas which are already declared "unsuitable" today, but on which, however, everything and more can be done.
The power to decide
The "urban planning" law proposed in Orgosolo, which we publish in the following pages, effectively gives Sardinia back the power to decide on the "territorial government", proposing innovative solutions, such as the Hydrogen Island to pursue total energy "independence". of the Island. This is not a No to renewable energy, but the exact opposite, with the direct management of that resource by the Sardinians, without allowing speculation and devastation of the island. For this reason the objective is municipal, inter-municipal, provincial and regional energy communities, governed by the public, with economic and procedural incentives. We focus on the best technologies to exploit, with zero landscape impact, all linear public infrastructures, from fast roads to railways and cycle paths. A "Sardinian Way" for the government of the territory and the correct "public" development of renewable energy.
