Farewell to Stefano Trumpy, Pioneer of the Internet in Italy and key figure in the creation of GARR
On October 1st, Stefano Trumpy passed away. He was an engineer and researcher who played a decisive role in the birth of the Internet in Italy and in the development of the national research network.
With his vision and determination, he marked a pivotal milestone in the digital history of our country and in the construction of what would become the GARR network.
Born in 1945, Trumpy graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pisa and dedicated his career to the National Research Council (CNR), where he held a leading role in computing and telecommunications.
In the 1970s, he participated in the SIRIO project, Italy’s first telecommunications satellite, coordinated by CNR in collaboration with NASA, ESA, and ASI. As Flight Operations Manager, Trumpy worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Washington, contributing to a program that paved the way for digital satellite communications and laid the technological foundations for the evolution of computer networks.
From 1983 to 1996, he served as director of CNUCE in Pisa, one of Italy’s main research centers in computing. It was there that, on April 30, 1986, Italy established its first connection to the ARPANET network, the predecessor of the Internet. That day, Italy became the fourth European country to connect to the global network, a milestone that marked the beginning of Italy’s participation in the world of the Internet. Trumpy remembered it as “a connection between people, ideas, and cultures, more than between computers.”
His contribution was equally crucial to the birth and development of the GARR network. In the years following that first connection, Trumpy actively participated in the Research Network Harmonization Group, established in 1986 by Professor Orio Carlini. The group brought together Italy’s leading scientific institutions, CNR, INFN, ENEA, and the inter-university consortia CINECA, CILEA, and CSATA (Center for Studies and Applications in Telecommunications and Automation).
The goal was ambitious: to integrate the various research networks into a single national infrastructure capable of connecting universities and research centers, and representing Italy at the European level. Trumpy strongly supported this harmonization process, contributing to the definition of the technical and organizational model that would lead, a few years later, to the official establishment of the GARR network.
From this shared vision, a national network emerged that connected Italian universities and research centers to each other and to the European research network GÉANT, creating an infrastructure that still today supports scientific collaboration and shared access to knowledge.
During the same period, Trumpy was among the promoters of Italy’s participation in the newly founded Internet Society (ISOC), established in 1992 by Vinton Cerf and other Internet pioneers to promote the open and cooperative development of the Internet worldwide. Thanks to his efforts, the National Research Council (CNR) became a founding member of ISOC, together with INFN, representing Italy in the original core of international institutions that guided the growth of the global network.
Trumpy served as its representative for many years and later as President of Internet Society Italy (ISOC Italia) from 2000 to 2018, promoting initiatives in Italy to spread digital culture, encourage participation in Internet governance processes, and raise awareness about the principles of openness and network neutrality.
He was also the first director of the “.it” domain Registry (1987–1999) and represented Italy at ICANN and in the Governmental Advisory Committee, where he served until 2014. In 2009, he was appointed Italy’s representative to the United Nations for Internet Governance, continuing his commitment to an open, inclusive, and public-oriented Internet.
A reference figure for both the scientific and digital communities, Stefano Trumpy dedicated his entire life to promoting Internet culture and the values of collaboration and sharing that guided its early development.
The GARR community joins the condolences of his family and all those who shared with him the enthusiasm and passion for building Italy’s research network and Internet.
Insights
Da GARR.tv
Telegram