Nuclear Energy and the Sublime. A Visual History from the Early Italian Anti-Nuclear Movement (1975-1979)

Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, public concerns over the safety of civilian reactors began to grow loud, highlighting the key issue of controlling nuclear technology. Local, national, and later international protests against nuclear stations became particularly relevant after the 1973 economic downturn, when commercial uses of atomic power started being considered as the most reliable option to deal with the looming energy crisis. After a brief introduction to the emergence of public demonstrations against nuclear reactors during the 1970s, the paper focuses on some of the most representative images that anti-nuclear movements shaped as instruments of counter-information in order to support and foster the protest. The emphasis is laid on Italy, where nuclear matters would not have had any priority without pressures exerted by the environmental mobilisation of the 1970s. Some issues of the ‘atomic controversy’, over the second half of the 20th century, have still received little investigation, such as those about visual history. Grassroots mobilisation against nuclear reactors has shaped many images, narratives, and illustrations that are sometimes neglected primary sources. Activists and protesters – on a local, national, and international basis – used them to frame meanings and spread explanations of controversial matters, but also to express feelings, warnings and fears with regard to nuclear technology. They are emblematic examples of what can be considered as an ‘embodiment’ of the thorny relationship between nuclear power and the Sublime.