by InTrieste
Regional officials are stepping up investment in quantum research, seeking to establish Friuli Venezia Giulia as a strategic hub for secure digital communications in Europe.
During a visit to newly inaugurated laboratories at the University of Trieste, Alessia Rosolen, the regional councilor for research, said the facilities reflect close cooperation between academia and public institutions, backed by sustained regional funding.
The laboratories, located in the Basovizza research area outside Trieste, were opened in 2024 with more than €4.7 million in regional financing. Overall spending on quantum infrastructure and human capital has surpassed €11.5 million, according to regional officials.
Two labs — “Artificial Quantum Systems” and “Quantum Communication and Information” — focus respectively on controlling individual atoms to engineer quantum systems and on developing secure communication methods using fiber optics and free-space transmission. A third initiative, the Lab Quantum Internet, is being developed jointly with the University of Udine to create a permanent fiber-optic network for quantum-secure communications in the region.
Quantum communication technologies, which aim to make data transmission resistant to interception, are widely seen as a frontier in cybersecurity. Regional leaders say the investments are designed not only to advance research but also to strengthen Friuli Venezia Giulia’s role along Europe’s emerging digital corridors, linking Italy more closely with Central and Eastern Europe.
For a border region historically shaped by geography, officials are betting that science — and the promise of quantum security — can redefine its place on the map.
