  The ASTRI project aims to develop, in the framework of the Cherenkov
Telescope Array, an end-to-end prototype of the small-size telescope, devoted
to the investigation of the energy range ~ 1-100 TeV. The proposed design is
characterized by two challenging but innovative technological solutions which
will be adopted for the first time on a Cherenkov telescope: a dual-mirror
Schwarzschild-Couder configuration and a modular, light and compact camera
based on Silicon photo-multipliers. Here we describe the prototype design, the
expected performance and the possibility to realize a mini array composed by a
few such telescopes, which shall be placed at the final CTA Southern Site.
