Enrico Mattei was born on April 29, 1906, in Acqualagna, in the province of Pesaro. After finishing elementary school, he attended a technical school and in 1923 began working as an apprentice at the Fiore tannery. In 1929, he moved to Milan and five years later founded the Lombarda Chemical Industry. During World War II, he joined the Resistance. After the war, Mattei was tasked with liquidating and privatizing the energy assets of Agip, the Italian General Petroleum Company. From this experience, in 1953, Eni, the National Hydrocarbons Authority, was born. Mattei was among the first to cultivate the spirit of frontier and respect for different cultures and is recognized as one of the most influential industrialists in Italian history.
Ingenuity is seeing possibilities where others do not
Enrico Mattei always maintained a direct relationship with employees, with particular attention to their needs. A Knight of Labor and Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, he also received the Bronze Star Medal, a military honor from the United States Armed Forces awarded for "acts of heroism, merit, or meritorious service in a combat zone." The historical archive of Eni in Pomezia preserves all the documentation produced by Mattei.
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