Nuclear: Online 3700+ open records unlocking Italy’s nuclear history

ENEA has launched NUCLE.Ar.S, a new digital portal dedicated to promoting and disseminating scientific culture and the history of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in Italy. The project collects and provides open access to a rich collection of materials recovered from ENEA’s historical archives: 2180 documents, 1350 photographs, 62 videos and 113 technical drawing, for a total of over 3700 records. The news comes on the occasion of International Archives Day, held annually on 9th June, a global initiative to promote the importance of preserving and providing access to historical archives and safeguarding collective memory and cultural heritage.

The portal brings together historical, scientific, and educational dimensions, offering the public—particularly young people, researchers, journalists and historians — a comprehensive tool to understand not only the history of scientific research in this field but also Italy’s broader technological and industrial evolution in the post-war decades.

This period witnessed remarkable growth in both the public and private sectors, giving rise to large-scale industrial projects and laying the groundwork for evaluating future energy scenarios.

Nucle.Ar.S. is a living, continuously expanding project open to multiple collaborations.  The academic world plays a privileged role among these, supporting the portal's educational mission —especially for young researchers — and contributing to the wider dissemination of scientific culture around the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

ENEA is the Italian national agency that led and directed nuclear energy research and development policy for over thirty years — operating first as Comitato Nazionale per le Ricerche Nucleari (CNRN), then Comitato Nazionale per l’Energia Nucleare (CNEN) and finally as ENEA, the Italian national agency for new technology, energy and sustainable development. Public research body hosting 2200 researchers, technologists and administrative staff, nowadays the mission of ENEA is promoting and increasing growth and competitiveness of the business sector, public administration, and society, through technology development, transfer of innovation and advanced services in the fields of nuclear fusion and advanced nuclear fission, renewable energy sources, sustainability and energy efficiency.

For more information: https://archiviostoriconucleare.enea.it

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