The Energy Politics of Enrico Mattei in the Context of the Mediterranean Area

This book deals with Italy’s relationship with the Mediterranean Sea into which the peninsula extends. In an international context divided into opposing blocs, Enrico Mattei engaged the National Hydrocarbons Board (ENI), founded in 1953, on two fronts. On the international front, defying the power of the “Seven Sisters”, he presented ENI as a 'Third-Worldist model' for countries on the path towards decolonization; domestically, focused on the development of the Italian economy. In this regard, Mattei firmly believed that Sicily could play a central role connecting the two shores of the Mediterranean region. As a matter of fact, the constant and heartfelt reference to the Resistance as a founding moment of the Italian Republic made ENI capable of presenting itself as a “Special Agent” of decolonization to support the efforts of countries that were trying to conjugate new national identities and economic development within the difficult geopolitical context of the Cold War.