Sos Enattos is a mine located in Sardinia, roughly halfway between the city of Nuoro and the island’s east coast. In Sardinian, its name refers to the presence of springs, and today it could become the site of one of the most important scientific research facilities of the decade.
The Einstein Telescope is an instrument used to measure gravitational waves, which represent one of the pillars theorised by the great physicist in 1916 in the context of the theory of general relativity, and were measured for the first time in 2016 thanks to an instrument in the USA with the collaboration of French and Italian researchers. Gravitational waves are a fundamental phenomenon for the development of research in the fields of physics and astronomy.
The facility, which will be almost three times larger than the systems currently in operation and therefore more sensitive and accurate with arms 10 kilometres long, will be built underground and, in order to be as reliable as possible, must be located in an area where the ground is free from seismic interference.
This is where Sardinia comes into play, having nominated Sos Enattos as the ideal location, an area that offers the best possible characteristics for the construction of the Einstein Telescope. It is an area free from seismic interference and the presence of the mine, which was inaugurated in 1868, makes it easier to carry out the work. However, the Italian proposal is not the only one. Its closest rival is the proposal from the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, which includes Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, where the cities of Liège, Maastricht and Aachen. Although its geological characteristics are not as extreme as those of Sardinia, it is located in a more logistically favourable area, which would make the construction of the telescope easier, thanks also to the presence of companies in the area capable of providing the necessary expertise and infrastructure.
The decision by the European institutions involved in the project regarding the site where it will be built will not be made until next year, probably in December 2026, with the aim of starting construction in 2028 and beginning gravitational wave observation operations in 2035. The Italian proposal naturally enjoys the full support of the Region of Sardinia and Italian Nobel Prize winner Giorgio Parisi, as well as the commitment of the Italian government, as reported in an official document from the region itself.
It goes without saying that the development of a project of this magnitude in an area such as the province of Nuoro would have a significant impact both in economic terms and in terms of enhancing the value of the area. It would be a factor of profound change in perspectives and would create great scientific, technical, technological and infrastructural opportunities, as well as economic and social ones.
This project began in 2022 and involves 1,700 scientists and 230 research institutes from 23 countries, with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), the Universities of Perugia, Pisa, Padua, Florence and Cagliari, the Italian Space Agency, the Max Planck Institute in Munich, the Dutch Nichel, the French CNRS with several universities, and Belgium, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. It is funded by the European Commission through Horizon EU projects and coordinated by a collaboration council.
It would therefore be a fundamental signal and a project capable of giving Sardinia new strength by opening up new contexts and developing the relationship between the island, mainland Italy and Europe. This is without detracting from the proposal for a Euroregion between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which certainly has the numbers and characteristics to become the site of the Einstein Telescope, but the choice of Sardinia would send a very strong signal from a Europe that values its territories by exploiting their most distinctive characteristics, in this case the geological uniqueness and capacity of a territory to develop around a long-term scientific project. (in the photo, the Sos Enattos mine, image taken from the Einstein Telescope Italy website)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©