The first collaboration agreement between ISIS and Italy was signed in 1984. Since then, the partnership has seen extensive use of ISIS instruments by over 4000 Italian researchers and over 900 publications on scientific studies in subjects from cultural heritage to fundamental magnetic systems, hydrogen storage materials, water structure and single event effects in microchips. In addition, twelve neutron or muon instruments have been constructed at the facility through ISIS-Italy collaboration.

This successful partnership was celebrated at events in Rome last week, including a celebratory dinner at the UK ambassador's residence, hosted by the Minister and Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Rome, David Burton. Mr Burton opened the event by speaking about the ongoing partnership between the UK and Italy, illustrated by a recent meeting of the Prime Ministers of both countries, also hosted at the ambassador's residence. His enthusiasm for the subject was evident from his comparison between neutrons and muons probing magnetism in materials and the idea that forty years of collaboration shows strong 'magnetic attraction' between ISIS and Italian researchers.

There were also welcome addresses from the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC's) Executive Chair, Professor Mark Thomson, and Professor Silvia Licoccia from University of Rome Tor Vergata. The latter drew the attendees' attention to the fact that the university was formed in 1982, and ISIS began operations in 1984, with the collaboration between them formalised that year. The two organisations have therefore grown together in partnership from their beginnings. This collaboration developed soon after into an ongoing formal agreement between ISIS and the Italian National Research Council (CNR), which was most recently extended in 2021.

The following day, a seminar and reception were held at University of Rome Tor Vergata. After giving an introduction, the Rector, Professor Nathan Levialdi Ghiron, presented Professor Thomson and ISIS Associate Director Dr Philip King with plaques to commemorate the occasion.

Professor Thomson then gave the plenary talk, including an overview of STFC, ISIS and the partnerships between each of them and Italy. For ISIS, he highlighted examples of the successes in instrumentation and scientific developments before moving on to talk about the future of the collaboration. This included the Italian investment in the ISIS instrument Tosca, which will undergo a significant upgrade as part of the ISIS Endeavour programme.

His presentation was followed by closing remarks from Professor Licoccia, coordinator ISIS@MACH Italia and Dr King, who focussed on the people, particularly students, who had benefitted over the years from the success of the collaboration. The seminar was followed by a reception, which included the cutting of a celebration cake.​

Attendees at the dinner and seminar included representatives from academic institutions across Italy, including the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), the universities of Milano Bicocca and Firenze, as well as the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, the Italian Space Agency, Italian Ministry of Defence, Centro Fermi. Industry was also represented by Thales Alenia Space, which regularly uses ISIS facilities. The event was organised by Professor Carla Andreani from University of Rome Tor Vergata, who has been instrumental in creating the partnership with ISIS since it began and by Professor David Della Morte Canosci, advisor of the Italian Minister of Research. ​

The forty years of ISIS-Italy partnership was celebrated in the UK in February 2024, and was also highlighted by the UK science minister during the G7 Science and Technology Ministerial, which took place in Italy in July 2024.

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The ISIS Neutron and Muon Source is a world-leading centre for research in the physical and life sciences at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford in the UK. Its suite of 35 neutron and muon instruments gives unique insights into the properties of materials on the atomic scale. The facility supports a national and international community of more than 3000 scientists for research into subjects ranging from clean energy and the environment, pharmaceuticals and health care, through to nanotechnology and materials engineering, catalysis and polymers, and on to fundamental studies of materials.

The Italian National Research Council (CNR) is the largest public research institution in Italy, the only one under the Research Ministry performing multidisciplinary activities. Founded as legal person on 18 November 1923, CNR's mission is to perform research in its own Institutes, to promote innovation and competitiveness of the national industrial system, to promote the internationalisation of the national research system, to provide technologies and solutions to emerging public and private needs, to advice Government and other public bodies, and to contribute to the qualification of human resources.

University of Rome Tor Vergata (UniTov) was established in 1982. The University of Rome Tor Vergata is structured in 6 Schools (Economics; Law; Engineering; Humanities and Philosophy; Medicine and Surgery; Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences) and in 18 Departments. It is designed on the model of Anglo-Saxon campuses: it stretches on 600 hectares and hosts research institutions, such as National Research Council – CNR and the Italian Space Agency – ASI.

The research infrastructure (RI) ISIS@MACH Italia (IM@IT) started in 2019 from a small scale collaboration between the UniTov and ISIS, building on a collaboration between ISIS and CNR. IM@IT, coordinated by University of Tor Vergata, is a distributed network of 7 different laboratories in Italy, and one in the UK, which attracts over four hundred users, and provides access to an extensive catalogue of small (over 100), medium (42) research capabilities for the benefit of many areas of scientific research, from life sciences to engineering.