Organizzazione territoriale dei servizi locali: il livello ottimale delle prestazioni

This essay analyses the evolution of the concept of "optimal territorial level" in the organisation of public services in Italy, exploring the dual relevance of territory as both the substratum of the economic system and the depositary of distinctive features deserving differentiated treatment. The author traces the historical trajectory of the "ambito territoriale" from its origins in the socio-sanitary sector during the 1970s — where it emerged as an aggregate expression of community needs — through its progressive transformation following the privatisations of the 1990s, when economic rationality and efficiency through economies of scale became the dominant rationale. The analysis examines key legislative interventions, including the Galli Law on integrated water services, Law 22/1997 on waste management, and the anti-crisis measures (notably Article 3-bis of Decree-Law 138/2011), highlighting the growing tension between the pluralist dimension envisaged by the Constituent Assembly and central decision-making responses to systemic distortions. Particular attention is devoted to the controversial relationship between optimal territorial scope and competition law, as reflected in conflicting Constitutional Court rulings (nos. 270/2010 and 325/2010), and to the impact of the Delrio Law and the Madia reform on the fragmentation of competences among municipalities, metropolitan cities and provinces. The essay concludes by considering how EU macro-regional strategies — particularly EUSAIR — and place-based cooperative approaches may offer a renewed conceptual framework for the notion of "ambito", restoring its connection to sustainable territorial development and bottom-up governance.