Between past and future, Eni tells its story in the Gela area.

On the first day of spring in Gela, archaeology takes center stage.

At the Museum of Greek Wrecks, another Saturday sees a full house of visitors drawn by the Greek ship and the artifacts recovered from the sea.

At the same time, at the Eni site, an event promoted by the Fai and the Bioraffineria Enilive is dedicated to industrial archaeology: two sides of the same coin.

But it is precisely industrial archaeology that represents the new aspect of the day.

In three shifts, 150 visitors entered the steel heart of the refinery, the old control room that has been closed for several years and opened to the public for the first time. A leap from the past to the present: from the room that controlled the crude oil refinery with buttons, commands, and large clocks, to the new secure bunker room with computerized stations. Unmistakable signs of a radically changed world.

The initiative, thanks to the view from the terrace of the old control room, allowed for an understanding of the profound change that has transformed the Eni industrial site in Gela from 2024 to today, entering the heart of an imposing conversion project that once again marks the Gela territory and its destiny. A city that remains tied to its industry.

"And we are too: the relationship with the territory in which we operate is fundamental. That’s why we participate in the Spring Fai Days, allowing people to get to know our history up close. How we were and how we are," said the president of the bioraffinery Luca Alburno.

The visit to the old control room has reignited the debate on a not insignificant aspect of Eni's presence in Gela: the heavy crude oil refining desired by Enrico Mattei last century is a closed chapter to make way for bioraffining, but it can be narrated through industrial archaeology tours. A conversion that becomes an opportunity not only economically and environmentally but also culturally.

As in the Ruhr or Bilbao, it is possible to invest in industrial archaeology in Gela, avoiding the demolition of all the disused plants and creating a visitable area with what remains most representative of the historical phase closed in 2014.

A perspective that appeals to Mayor Terenziano Di Stefano, who was present at the meeting, and to Senator Pietro Lorefice, who promoted the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of the Environment and Eni in 2019 regarding the ten-year plan for demolitions and remediation.

A plan that – Eni explains – is proceeding according to the timeline and will be completed within the established timeframe. The first phase, initiated in 2021, saw the demolition of the iconic refinery facilities, from the Snox chimney to the boilers.

In the second phase, which started in 2024, other essential facilities for crude oil processing have been removed. In 2026, the demolitions of the old warehouses of the former Agriculture are underway, an activity that will conclude within a year, and further contracts for the facilities included in the Protocol are planned. Among these is the quadricanne.

"A protocol that the Ministry should have verified a long time ago – says Senator Lorefice – but it has not done so. I have sent three requests to the Minister of the Environment without receiving a response. I will return to the charge: that protocol needs to be monitored and also revised. There are facilities that were not considered for demolition in 2019 and others that should be preserved in the context of industrial archaeology."

In this context and as part of the revision of the protocol between Eni and the Ministry of the Environment, the idea of offering those who arrive in Gela another narrative can materialize: alongside the history of the flourishing Greek colony with its imposing remains, there is also the story of a territory that hosted heavy industry and then turned the page, becoming an example of industrial conversion in Europe.

The old control room opened to the public yesterday could become a central artifact of the future industrial archaeology tour in Gela.