The Role of Physics Students at the University of Florence in the Early Italian Anti-nuclear Movements (1975-1987)

Popular movements and public opinion had a crucial role in shaping the fate of Italian nuclear programs. In parallel with the growing technical and safety problems revealed by nuclear technology, they have conditioned (as is obvious) political decisions. The experience that we have reconstructed is significant also for an assessment of nuclear technology, and the relationship between specialists and popular points of view. In the mid 1970s, a group of students from the University of Florence published one of the first exhaustive books on the subject (I Nucleodollari), and developed an active role in the growing Italian anti-nuclear movement, as popular nuclear “experts”, alongside professional nuclear experts. Professor Angelo Baracca inherited their experience and public engagement. This activity continued in the 1980s in the anti-nuclear movement, opposing civilian nuclear programs and supporting nuclear disarmament