La «difficile crociata» dell’industria nucleare italiana: Fabbricazioni Nucleari S.p.A. dalla fondazione al passaggio ad Agip Nucleare (1967-1977)

This article reconstructs and analyzes the history of Fabbricazioni Nucleari SPA, the factory that produced the first load of Italian nuclear fuel. Founded in the summer of 1967 by Ansaldo Meccanico Nucleare and General Electric, and later taken over by AGIP Nucleare, the company was established and operated during a particularly delicate phase of Italy’s civilian nuclear program, marked by political uncertainty, project delays, and structural weaknesses. By tracing the history of the factory – from its origins to its early years of production – the article offers an original perspective on the dynamics that shaped the Italian nuclear sector between the late 1960s and the 1970s. The research is based on a wide range of primary sources, both published and unpublished, drawn from historical archives (notably the IRI collection at the Central State Archives) and corporate archives (Ansaldo, ENI).