Geografia della marginalità dei Comuni italiani: esiti di un’indagine multifattoriale mediante cluster analysis [Geography of marginality in Italian Municipalities: outcomes of a clusterbased multifactor analysis]

A large part of the Italian territory shows a spatial organization based on small villages and/or territories characterized by marginal conditions with a limited access to services of general interest. Although relevant in terms of distribution in the spatial organization system, these territories often suffer from the effects of an historically stratified territorial gap. In the context of territorial cohesion policies, some significant initiatives have been undertaken on a national scale such as the National Strategy for Internal Areas and the Fund for Marginal Municipalities with the aim of activating local enhancement and development processes. The main goal of this work is to identify one or more socio-economic variables, with values close to each other, in the cluster of Municipalities classified as “marginal” in order to evaluate the specific dynamics of marginal municipalities compared to non-marginal ones. The methodology is quantitative, based on a differential approach which compares two data sets related to “marginal” and “non-marginal” Municipalities. Preliminary results can provide indications on the possible actions to be implemented to reduce the territorial marginality differentials, apart from representing a replicable methodology for future research.