In Italy, little is known about the spatial variations of the interseismic deformation along major fault zones. Recent space geodetic studies in various tectonic regimes have shown that strain accumulation is characterised by variable intensities and spatial patterns at the scale of the single active faults and fault zones, providing in perspective useful data for an improved assessment of the seismic hazard. INGV has started the VELISAR (Ground VELocity in Italian Seismogenic AReas) research initiative, with the scope to produce a high-resolution ground deformation data set for a better understanding of the seismic cycle in the italian seismogenic areas. Ground velocity maps will be generated for such areas using multi-temporal SAR Interferometry techniques. In particular, VELISAR wants to exploit the information content of the archived ERS 1-2 data from 1992 to 2001, and for this it will make use of advanced processing methodologies for time-series InSAR, as the PS (Permanent Scatterers) and SBAS (Small BAseline Subset) techniques. We intend to process some thousands of ERS images, and to validate the resulting ground velocities by means of independent space and ground geodetic data. An important objective of VELISAR is to make available to the scientific community the ground velocity maps, and this is accomplished through a dedicated web site, open also to the general public. We will present the initiative, its scope and the results obtained so far