Oristano holds the record as the quietest area but the economy is struggling

he rice and the sea. The countryside, culture and the important figure of Eleonora d'Arborea. In Oristano, Sardinia's fourth largest provincial capital city, with around thirty thousand inhabitants, life runs 'quietly'. With few crimes and complaints, as certified by the statistics published by Il Sole 24 Ore regarding the number of complaints affecting the city and the surrounding area located halfway between Cagliari and Sassari, in the northern part of the Campidano plain.

Since 1974 it has been a provincial capital with an important past behind it, that of capital of the Giudicato d'Arborea. And today known, among other things, for the Sartiglia. Massimiliano Sanna, mayor of the capital city and reference point for the entire surrounding area, has no doubts. 'What we are recording is a situation that has been created thanks to the close cooperation between the institutions and the forces of law and order, police, Carabinieri, Guardia di finanza,' he says. We also have a video surveillance system that we implement every year and which allows us to control and monitor the city'. And then, according to the first citizen, there is also a historical element that cannot be forgotten: 'It is probably in our DNA the reference to the Carta de Logu of 1300,' he adds, 'the set of rules that reminds us of Eleonora d'Arborea.

Yet Oristano, despite its potential, does not shine from an economic point of view. "Let's also say that we are the province with the most difficulties from an economic point of view, but we are working with all the institutions so that we can make the leap,' he argues, 'starting with the project to open the Fenosu airport, without forgetting the tourism potential. The first citizen also emphasises another aspect: 'In our town there are athletes of the highest level and we have been European city in 2019,' he continues, 'I think that these aspects are at the basis of peaceful living, which then turns into a low number of complaints. The town also has a university, with the University Consortium set up in collaboration with the universities of Sassari and Cagliari. 'There are specific courses such as viticulture and oenology linked to the territory,' Sanna argues, 'plus the faculty of economics and management of tourist services, food technology and specialisation schools. And then the rice that our city exports all over the world. A true excellence. That is why we are planning a series of initiatives to further enhance this product'.

Claudio Atzori, the regional president of Legacoop Sardegna and a national office, starts from afar. 'The quiet living that is recorded in Oristano I think is linked to the character of the people,' he says. 'We are a united community, let's even say a large town where everyone, for better or worse, knows each other. And then the police do an excellent job, we must not forget that Oristano is manned by all the different realities and this aspect works as a deterrent for any criminal events'. Atzori adds a detail: 'In the city, as in the territory, there is a strong feeling of solidarity. Employment is also quite widespread. There is a good middle class while there is not much high wealth. Furthermore, we must remember that Oristano has a high number of cooperatives ranging from services to agriculture, from the social system to other sectors. Probably also the feeling of cooperation and solidarity that characterises cooperatives influences people's way of doing and behaviour. That is, the possibility of working, the redistribution of wealth and participation'. Remigio Sequi, chartered accountant and president of 3A Arborea, the largest cooperative in the agri-food sector with 158 member farms, which closed the first half of the year with revenues of 118.6 million, also agrees. 'The first reason I believe is related to the character of the people, we are peaceful people,' he says, 'then there is a strong prevention activity and this gives people a sense of security. Of course the economic potential, especially for tourism, is not exploited to the full and there is not a lot of investment, but let's say that people manage to live well anyway'.