  The aim of the CYGNO project is the construction and operation of a 1~m$^3$
gas TPC for directional dark matter searches and coherent neutrino scattering
measurements, as a prototype toward the 100-1000~m$^3$ (0.15-1.5 tons) CYGNUS
network of underground experiments. In such a TPC, electrons produced by
dark-matter- or neutrino-induced nuclear recoils will drift toward and will be
multiplied by a three-layer GEM structure, and the light produced in the
avalanche processes will be readout by a sCMOS camera, providing a 2D image of
the event with a resolution of a few hundred micrometers. Photomultipliers will
also provide a simultaneous fast readout of the time profile of the light
production, giving information about the third coordinate and hence allowing a
3D reconstruction of the event, from which the direction of the nuclear recoil
and consequently the direction of the incoming particle can be inferred. Such a
detailed reconstruction of the event topology will also allow a pure and
efficient signal to background discrimination. These two features are the key
to reach and overcome the solar neutrino background that will ultimately limit
non-directional dark matter searches.
