ROME, Feb. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Polis, a project by Poste Italiane to turn post offices into digital service hubs, into one-stop shops for quick and easy access to public administration services in 7,000 Italian municipalities with less than 15,000 inhabitants, was officially launched on 30 January. In the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and numerous government and institutional representatives, the project was presented in Rome by the President of Poste Italiane, Maria Bianca Farina, and the CEO, Matteo Del Fante, to the 7,000 Mayors of the municipalities involved.

Thanks to Polis, financed with 800 million euro of funds under the National Plan for Complementary Investments to the NRRP, Poste Italiane is giving a new face to these 7,000 post offices in small towns, with a view to making them more welcoming and transforming them into digital one-stop proximity shops open 24 hours a day. Citizens will be able to request registry and civil status certificates, electronic identity cards, passports, tax codes (codice fiscale) for newborns, social security and judicial certificates, and numerous other services in addition to postal, financial, logistics, insurance and telecommunications services. The renovation and technological upgrading of post offices started immediately after the green light from the European Commission, which arrived at the end of October 2022, and was completed within a few months. As of today, 40 post offices have been fully renovated while the upgrading is still ongoing at 230 sites. By the end of the year, renovation work is set to start on 1,500 new Polis offices.

"With Polis, we want to continue to offer support to Italy by accompanying its transformation”, said the President of Poste Italiane, Maria Bianca Farina; “no one knows and understands the country like we do at Poste Italiane, strong in the experience we have gained in our century-long history and in our confidence for the future". "The Polis project”, explained the CEO of Poste Italiane, Matteo Del Fante, "was conceived to guarantee 16 million Italians who live in municipalities with fewer than 15,000 inhabitants equal access to the many public administration services, bringing them closer to the State in a concrete way".

"Polis is a tool with which Poste Italiane reaffirms its mission as a system company supporting the country's economic development, cohesion and social solidarity”, said the Co-General Manager of Poste Italiane, Giuseppe Lasco.

Thanks to Polis, Italian citizens will be able to request certificates at the counter, use totems and ATMs operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Polis will also contribute to greater energy efficiency and promote green mobility through the installation of 5,000 charging stations for electric vehicles and 1,000 photovoltaic systems. Last but not least, Poste Italiane will launch a project entitled ‘Spazi per l'Italia' (Spaces for Italy), aimed at creating the largest coworking network in the country with 250 smart, interconnected locations by repurposing company-owned real estate.

For more information:
LaPresse SpA Communication and Press Office Director
Barbara Sanicola - barbara.sanicola@lapresse.it

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/609a4833-1915-4bfd-bff5-d6074e38d4cf

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.