Felice Ippolito

Felice Ippolito (16 November 1915 – 24 April 1997) was an Italian geologist, politician and engineer. He was a fiery promoter of the development of nuclear energy in Italy.

Felice Ippolito
Born16 November 1915 (1915-11-16)
Naples, Italy
Died24 April 1997 (1997-04-25) (aged 81)
Rome, Italy
OccupationGeologist

Biography

Born in Naples, Ippolito graduated in civil engineering with a specialization in geology in 1938, and in 1950 he became Professor of Applied Geology at the University of Naples Federico II.[1] Interested in the use of civil nuclear energy because of his researches on uranium as a geologist, in 1952 he became General Secretary for the use of nuclear energy, became in 1960 the Comitato nazionale per l'Energia Nucleare (CNEN), the predecessor of ENEA.[1] In this role, he contributes to various projects including establishing the Latina, Trino and Garigliano nuclear power plants. In December 1955, he was among the founders of the Italian Radical Party.[1]

In August 1963 an Ippolito case about a supposed maladministration of the CNEN broke in the newspapers. Ippolito was arrested in 1964 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. The case was widely considered as a scapegoat to block nuclear power in favor of the nascent Italian oil industry, and it has also been associated to the mysterious death of Enrico Mattei in 1962. Ippolito was pardoned by Giuseppe Saragat after two years in prison.[1][2][3][4]

In 1968, Ippolito founded the magazine Le Scienze, the Italian version of Scientific American.[1] Between 1979 and 1989, he was an MEP with the Italian Communist Party.[1]

References
  1. Giuseppe Sircana. "IPPOLITO, Felice". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 62. Treccani, 2004.
  2. Mario Silvestri. Il costo della menzogna. Italia nucleare 1945-1968. Einaudi, 1968.
  3. Ernesto Paolozzi (11 August 2008). "Quel che scrisse Ippolito". La Repubblica. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  4. "L`arresto di Ippolito e la fine del nucleare in Italia". Rai Storia. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
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