Tra regione e comune: la scala sovracomunale nelle politiche di coesione per il Mezzogiorno

BETWEEN REGION AND MUNICIPALITY: THE INTRA-REGIONAL SCALE AND THE COHESION POLICY FOR THE ITALIAN MEZZOGIORNO. - The paper treats the issue of the role of the local scale within territorial development policies at the turning point between the present and the future programming period, 2007-2013. Though some critical aspects are emerging from the present programming period, the experiences carried out in the Italian Mezzogiorno (in particular, the Integrated Territorial Programs) can be considered a starting point by regional and local authorities, in order to draw their future development strategies according to the new priorities of the cohesion policy. The paper starts from the reflections upon the territorial dimension of development, at the European and national level, and from the analysis of the Regional Strategic Reference Frameworks produced up to now, focusing on the different approaches adopted by southern Italian Regions in order to overcome the limits shown by Integrated Territorial Programs and to build territorial scenarios for the future.