Ispra is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' and small town on the eastern coast of

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

, in the

province of Varese The province of Varese ( it, provincia di Varese) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese (population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is Busto Arsizio. The head ...

(

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Toponymy

Attested by the name ''Ispira'' (712), ''Ispira'' (XIV). Appears as ''Ispratium'' in

Aegidius Tschudi Aegidius (or Giles or Glig) Tschudi (5 February 150528 February 1572) was a Swiss statesman and historian, an eminent member of the Tschudi family of Glarus, Switzerland. His best known work is the Chronicon Helveticum, a history of the earl ...

's ''Beschreibung Galliae Comatae''. According to Gaudenzio Merula the origin of the name could lie onto the rocky nature of this landscape; ''Hisprum quasi asperum ob saxorum difficultates'', that is to say equivalent to the Latin '' hispida'' (cf. ''

hispid Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...

'' and '' ispido'') and related to the Provençal ''ispre'' with the "d" shifting to an "r" due to

rhotacism Rhotacism () or rhotacization is a sound change that converts one consonant (usually a voiced alveolar consonant: , , , or ) to a rhotic consonant in a certain environment. The most common may be of to . When a dialect or member of a language ...

Joint Research Centre

Some of the main Institutes of the

Joint Research Centre The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to European Union (EU) policy. The JRC is ...

(JRC) of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

(EC) are located there, including the

Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen The Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC), located in Ispra, Italy, is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), a Directorate-General of the European Commission The European Commission (EC) is t ...

(IPSC), the

Institute for Environment and Sustainability The Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) used to be a specialised institute of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) directorate of the European Commission, based in Ispra, Italy. Its mission was to provide scientific and technical support ...

(IES) and the

Institute for Health and Consumer Protection The Institute for Health and Consumer Protection or IHCP, located in Ispra, Italy, is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), a Directorate-General of the European Commission (EC). The Institute for Health and Consumer Prot ...

(IHCP), as well as the Ispra site Directorate (IS). Locally, the research establishment is referred to as the CCR (Centro Comune di Ricerca) or as

EURATOM The European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) is an international organisation established by the Euratom Treaty on 25 March 1957 with the original purpose of creating a specialist market for nuclear power in Europe, by developing nucl ...

- based on its history in nuclear research. The site covers an area of , where the original presence of pines, birches, oaks and chestnut trees has partially been preserved. The site still contains a number of experimental

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

s in the process of being decommissioned.nuclear reactors
/ref>

Famous descendants

The Italian American ballerina

Enrica Soma Enrica Georgia Soma (May 9, 1929 – January 29, 1969) was an American socialite, model, and prima ballerina. She was also the wife of director John Huston and mother of their three children. Life and career Soma was born in Manhattan, New York, ...

(the mother of actress Anjelica Huston) was born to parents who had immigrated to the U.S. from Ispra.

References

{{Varese-geo-stub

Toponymy

Joint Research Centre

Famous descendants

See also

References