During the summer holiday season, digital facilitators have been helping Romans with bookings, identity verification and access to public services
Rome’s city council has had to replace nearly 350,000 paper identity documents over the last six months. From today, 3 August, the traditional paper identity card is no longer valid for travel abroad, regardless of its expiry date, as stipulated by EU Regulation 2019/1157, introduced to harmonise document security standards across the European Union. The measure applies to travel abroad, as paper identity cards that have not yet expired remain valid for all other domestic purposes within the country. The old cards, which lack microchips, fingerprints and biometric data, are in fact easily susceptible to forgery and fraud.
This issue is well known to the digital facilitators of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, who form a support network for citizens that has become essential for accessing online services. Operating in all of Rome’s municipal districts, in recent months they have helped Romans use the public administration’s digital platforms, access municipal, regional and national services, navigate websites such as MyInps, and apply for ZTL permits. Above all, however, they have guided many Romans through the process of activating their Cie, which has been the subject of countless enquiries in recent days.
The facilitators described the flurry of activity during the weeks of July: the number of people rushing to the Town Hall is rising as the summer holidays begin and people prepare to go away. In some cases, assistance was provided with booking procedures on the Ministry of the Interior’s ‘Agenda’ website and information on the timeframes for issuing the document. “ A father with his very young son was due to leave in about two weeks’ time and needed an identity card to travel abroad. Appointments can usually only be booked about 40 days in advance, so this was practically impossible. After registering the father on the Ministry’s website, I tried to help him book an appointment, and with a bit of patience and luck we managed to find two slots just two days apart. Overall, this transition period from the old paper identity card to the Cie is going well, thanks also to the local councils, which are making every effort to accommodate citizens as much as possible,” says the facilitator Diego Di Domenico, aged 35.
“Today, citizens can choose between SPID – which some providers have started charging for – and the Cie, which allows access to an ever-increasing number of online services. Just a few days ago, a citizen, who works at a hospital, urgently needed to access a portal to check his rota and find out which site he was due to work at the following day. Unfortunately, he was experiencing problems with both SPID and the Cie and was unable to log in. “After several attempts and a careful assessment of the situation, we guided him step by step through the process of resolving the issue. This intervention was also made possible thanks to the invaluable collaboration of the Town Hall staff, who provided support with the necessary checks, and the operators of the free telephone helpline made available by the Ministry of the Interior,” explains the facilitator Daniele Bianchi, aged 32.
The digital facilitation project stems from an initial phase funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which the Rome City Council has chosen to continue using its own resources, keeping assistance points active across the city. The Digital facilitation services are provided by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, through Zètema, at municipal registry offices, from 8.30 am to 1 pm, according to a schedule distributed across the various municipal districts.
Since the project’s launch in June 2024, the service has reached over 50,000 citizens, ranging from the elderly to foreign nationals, families, teachers, young adults, the unemployed, third-sector organisations and small businesses. The impact on the city is evidenced by the boroughs’ request to ensure the continuity of the service – which was originally scheduled to run only until April 2026 – and by Roma Capitale’s decision to invest its own resources to maintain the service’s presence in municipal offices.
During the summer, the service is scheduled to be suspended from Tuesday 4 to Monday 31 August 2026. From 1 September, the facilitators will offer their support for other essential services: for example, with the start of the new school year, the centres will assist Roman families with low ISEE thresholds with their right to education, specifically with applications for book vouchers for the purchase of school textbooks and reduced-rate school meals. Meanwhile, Roma Capitale guarantees the free provision of all school textbooks for primary school pupils.
