ABSTRACT
In the history of Italian structural engineering, monopolized by reinforced concrete, steel also experienced a moment of glory. It happened during the boom years: in the affluence that had now been achieved, when even the most expensive material for Italy, which had always lacked in iron mines, seemed to become competitive. In such a peculiar context, in the 1960s, surprisingly enough, a ‘state’ company was founded within IRI with the ambition of monopolizing this market, which was expected to be profitable and expanding: Costruzioni Metalliche Finsider, known by its acronym CMF. This venture stemmed from complex reasons concerning the political, economic, and productive history of Italy: this contribution aims to reconstruct the genesis and failure of this “state attempt” to impose steel on Italian structures. The survey makes use of unpublished archival documentation (the private archives of the CMF designers, IRI files at the Central State Archives, client archives) and unexplored photographic files. This work forms part of the SIXXI project (ERC Advanced Grant, P.I. T. Iori, S. Poretti; host institution: Rome Tor Vergata University).
