Institutes & Facilities

INFN – Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati

The National Laboratories of the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) house Italy's first particle accelerator, a 1,000 MeV electron synchrotron that, when it began operating in 1959, was among the most competitive in the world. In March 1960 Bruno Touschek proposed colliding electrons with positrons; the result, AdA, was the first electron–positron storage ring and stored its first particles on 27 February 1961. Its successor ADONE followed in 1969. In the “November revolution” of 1974 ADONE narrowly missed discovering particles containing the charm quark, because its maximum energy fell about 3% short. DAΦNE followed in 1997.

The laboratories' facilities include the DAΦNE collider, built in the former ADONE hall, the Beam Test Facility (BTF), which provides electron, positron, photon and neutron beams for detector testing and opens to external user groups in scheduled periods, and SPARC_LAB for plasma acceleration and free-electron-laser research. On 26 August 2026 the laboratories reported that SPARC_LAB, working with SLAC's FACET-II and ENEA, had for the first time produced 700 nm free-electron-laser light from an electron beam accelerated in plasma and compressed to a few femtoseconds, which they describe as a proof of principle.

ESA – ESRIN

ESRIN is the European Space Agency's centre for Earth observation. Its first staff began work in Frascati in January 1966, and the foundation ceremony for its buildings took place on 27 September 1968. ESRIN manages the operational phase of ESA's Earth observation satellites and their ground segment and keeps a very large environmental data archive. It has also hosted the project team of the Vega launcher programme since 1999. ESA's Φ-lab, which looks for bold Earth observation ideas to support and scale, is linked to the Φ-week held in Frascati.

ENEA – Frascati Research Centre and DTT

The Italian energy agency ENEA runs a research centre in Frascati, where the Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT) is being built. ENEA describes DTT as a crucial link between the two major international fusion projects, ITER and the DEMO demonstration plant. It is being built by a consortium led by ENEA in collaboration with Eni, with Italian research institutions and universities. DTT is designed to confine 33 m³ of plasma at 100 million °C, with a plasma current of 6 million amperes.

Tor Vergata: university and space

The University of Rome Tor Vergata was established in 1982; its campus covers about 600 hectares in the south-east of Rome. The headquarters of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), opened in 2012, stands in the university's academic district, which also hosts a research area of the National Research Council (CNR) and INAF's Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS). IAPS, formed in 2012, works closely with NASA, ESA, ASI, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency.

Astronomy in the hills

The Rome Astronomical Observatory (INAF-OAR) has its site in Monte Porzio Catone, where Astrolab offers an interactive astronomy lab for the public and schools. In Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican Observatory, one of the oldest active astronomical observatories, has worked since its move from Rome; its new seat was inaugurated on 29 September 1935, a move prompted by the light pollution of the city.

Websites and maps

• INFN – Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati

  Italy's first particle accelerator (1959), the AdA and ADONE colliders, and the DAΦNE, Beam Test Facility and SPARC_LAB facilities.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• ESA – ESRIN

  ESA's centre for Earth observation: satellite operations, ground segment and a very large environmental data archive.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• ENEA – Frascati Research Centre

  Fusion research and the construction site of the Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT).

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata

  Established in 1982; its campus in the south-east of Rome covers about 600 hectares.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• ASI – Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

  The Italian Space Agency's headquarters, opened in 2012 in the academic district of Tor Vergata University.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• CNR – Area della Ricerca di Roma Tor Vergata

  A research area of Italy's National Research Council (CNR) at Tor Vergata.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• INAF – IAPS

  Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology, one of INAF's institutes, in the Tor Vergata area since its predecessors moved there in 1998.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma

  The Rome Astronomical Observatory's site in Monte Porzio Catone, home of Astrolab, an interactive astronomy lab open to the public and schools.

  Website · OpenStreetMap

• Specola Vaticana

  One of the oldest active astronomical observatories, moved from Rome to Castel Gandolfo because of light pollution; the new seat was inaugurated on 29 September 1935.

  Website · OpenStreetMap