Italy's Nuclear Experience

Trieste, November 13-15, 2014

This conference aims at analyzing the history of Italy’s nuclear energy policies during the Cold War, by placing the Italian case in a comparative perspective and highlighting the importance of the international context in shaping the country’s specific experience. It builds upon a previous conference, organized by Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A and the University of Trieste in 2012 (Nuclear Energy in Italy after the Second World War: Research, Culture, Politics - http://www.elettra.trieste.it/Ippolito/). This conference proposes to examine the ways in which international politics and economics, technological and scientific exchanges, as well as social and cultural movements, influenced Italian nuclear energy policies, both civilian and military. Furthermore, it seeks to understand how the Italian case compares to other national histories, in Western and Eastern Europe, the U.S., Latin America, Asia and Africa.

With few important exceptions, the Italian case has largely remained on the margins of a growing scholarship on the history of nuclear energy. This conference intends to provide a venue for work-in- progress by junior and senior scholars, with the aim of consolidating a national and international research group on this topic. We are particularly interested in fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue and encourage papers that use a variety of approaches, such as history, science and technology studies, physics, engineering, political science, economics, international relations, anthropology, and geography.

Some of the issues that the conference will address are:

• The ways in which the Cold War shaped Italian civilian and military nuclear policies.
• The role public opinion, social and cultural groups, anti-nuclear and pro-nuclear movements, had in shaping Italian nuclear policies.
• The ways in which an interdisciplinary approach such as that of Science and Technology Studies (STS) might provide a new understanding about the history of nuclear energy in Italy.

This conference is organized by Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., the Department of Humanities of the University of Trieste, the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Roma Tre, and the Physics Department and the Department of Documentary, Linguistic-Philological and Geographic Sciences of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”.

The working group responsible for the conference programme includes professors and researchers from the University of Trieste – Humanities Department; University of Roma Tre – Political Science Department; Machiavelli Center for Cold War Studies – CIMA; University of Rome “La Sapienza” - Physics Department and Departments for Documentary, Linguistic-Philological and Geographical Sciences; Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.

Program

Thursday November 13
Sala Costantinides, Civico Museo Sartorio
Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1, Trieste

2:30 pm - Opening remarks

Introduction - Igor Londero, Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.

Civil Nuclear Energy*

Chair: Carlo Rizzuto, President CERIC-ERIC

Fabio Lavista, Bocconi University, A New Energy Source for Italian Development: The Controversial Case of Agip Nucleare (1956-1962)

Valentina Della Gala, INDIRE Istituto Nazionale di Documentazione, Innovazione e Ricerca, The Nuclear Power Plant in Garigliano: A History of a State Business (1957-1964)

Elisabetta Bini, University of Trieste, Between Oil and Nuclear Power: the United States and Italy’s Energy Policies (1950s-1960s)

coffee break

Barbara Curli, University of Turin, Italy and Early European Cooperation in Nuclear Fusion

Mauro Elli, University of Padua, A Fusion of Intents: Euratom’s Success and Italy’s Relevance in Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion Research during the 1980s

G.B. Zorzoli, Honorary President Coordinamento Fonti Rinnovabili ed Efficienza Energetica, Have Italian Decision Makers understood that Nuclear is not Business as Usual?

Discussant: Alain Beltran, University of Paris, La Sorbonne

Friday November 14
Università degli Studi di Trieste, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici,
Via Tigor 22, Trieste, room 3.

9:30 am - Military Aspects

Chair: Georg Meyr, University of Trieste

Massimiliano Moretti, University of Roma Tre, A never-ending story: the Italian contribution to F-I-G

Leopoldo Nuti, University of Roma Tre, Flirting with Latency: The Debate accompanying the Signing of the Non-proliferation Treaty

coffee break

Marilena Gala, University of Roma Tre, Italy's Role in implementing the Dual-track Decision of 1979

Matteo Gerlini, University of Florence and Franca Padoani, ENEA, Energy Independence vs. Nuclear Safeguards: U.S. Attitude toward French-Italian Fast Breeder Reactors Program

Discussant: Benoit Pelopidas, University of Bristol

1 pm - Lunch seminar

Giorgio Ferrari Ruffino, former manager at ENEL, A Rare Case of conscientious objection in the Italy of the 1970s-1980s. How a Nuclear Expert became Anti-nuke

Angelo Baracca, Roberto Livi, Stefano Ruffo, Universiy of Florence, and Saverio Craparo, The Active Role of Students of Physics, and Subsequent Professors, of the University of Florence in the Early Italian Anti-nuclear Movements, 1975-1987

Moderator: Elisabetta Vezzosi, University of Trieste

3 pm - Public Opinion and Anti-Nuclear Movements

Chair: Claudio Tuniz, ICTP, Trieste

Giulia Iannuzzi, University of Trieste, Italian Science Fiction, Nuclear Technologies: Narrative Strategies between the “Two Cultures”

Laura Ciglioni, University Studies Abroad Consortium at Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Italian Public Opinion in the Nuclear Age: Mass-Market Magazines Facing Nuclear Issues (1963-1967)

Renato Moro, University of Roma Tre, Anti-nuclear Movements in Italy in the 1980s

Discussant: Matthew Evangelista, Cornell University

6 pm - “Nuclear Seed”. Compositions/Improvisations for trumpet and electronic. Mirio Cosottini (trumpet and flugelhorn) e Francesco Canavese (guitars and electronic)

Saturday November 15
Università degli Studi di Trieste, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici,
Via Tigor 22, Trieste, aula 3.

9:30 am - The Role of Researchers and Scientists

Chair: Gianrossano Giannini, University of Trieste

Giovanni Paoloni, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Scientific Research and Nuclear Energy: Peculiarities of the Italian Case

Francesco Cassata, University of Genoa (D.A.FI.ST.), Life Atomic: Adriano Buzzati-Traverso and the Biology Division of the Italian Atomic Energy Commission (1957-1962)

coffee break

Lodovica Clavarino, University of Roma Tre, “Many Countries will have the Bomb: there will be Hell”. Edoardo Amaldi and the Italian Physicists committed to Disarmament, Arms Control and Détente

Carlo Patti, Universidade Federal de Goiás, The Brazilian – Italian Cooperation in the Nuclear Field (1950 - 1980)

Discussant: Giovanni Battimelli, University of Rome “La Sapienza”

This conference is organized by Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., the Department of Humanities of the University of Trieste, the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Roma Tre, and the Departments of Physics and Documentary, Linguistic-Philological and Geographic Sciences of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”.

The working group responsible for the conference programme includes professors and researchers from the University of Trieste – Humanities Department; University of Roma Tre – Political Science Department; Machiavelli Center for Cold War Studies – CIMA; University of Rome “La Sapienza” - Physics Department and Departments for Documentary, Linguistic-Philological and Geographical Sciences; Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.

Scientific Committee
Giovanni Battimelli (University of Rome “La Sapienza”)
Elisabetta Bini (University of Trieste)
Igor Londero (Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.)
Leopoldo Nuti (University of Roma Tre)
Giovanni Paoloni (University of Rome “La Sapienza”)
Carlo Rizzuto (President CERIC-ERIC)
Elisabetta Vezzosi (University of Trieste)

Organizing Offices: Giulia Iannuzzi (University of Trieste)
Contact: nuclearitaly@gmail.com
WEB: www.elettra.eu/Conferences/2014/NuclearItaly

*    Please note that the sessions Civil Nuclear Energy, Public Opinion and Anti-Nuclear Movements, The Role of Researchers and Scientists and the lunch seminar will be held in Italian; the session Military Aspects will be held in English.