Parthenope University of Naples

Now one of the fully accredited universities of Naples, the “Parthenope” University was founded in 1920 as the Regio Istituto Superiore Navale, that is, as the Royal Naval Technical Institute of the Kingdom of Italy. Initially, its purpose was to be a "support" institute for the promotion of studies aimed at improving maritime economy and naval technology. In the 1930s it was further enlarged and improved, and its name was changed to Istituto Universitario Navale. It played a strategic role during Fascism: the University experts elaborated and calculated the exact and best air routes for the Oceanic trips performed by the Royal Italian Sea Planes, the "Trasvolata Atlantica". Several airplanes, leaving their base in Orbetellello, arrived to New York City and, in a second trip, finally come to South America: it was a great technological and political success for the regime. Also, it was at the Istituto Universitario Navale that, during World War II , some scientist developed and realized the first Italian radar; unfortunately the political authorities did not understand the importance of such discovery, stopping the development and thus neglecting the possibility to produce such an instrument.