The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is in second place in the world rankings concerning international collaboration and scientific production compiled by the journal Nature. The first place went to the French CNRS with an advantage of just one percent.

The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics in this ranking is before the CERN (third place) and NASA (sixth) and confirms its high ranking in the world in another, more specific list, the one regarding international collaborations in the physical sciences, among which stands out the Italian-US collaboration for the management of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona, facility that carries with it the "Made in Italy" brand.

These findings emerge from the "Nature Index Collaboration 2016" document, published online, which has monitored the scientific output of research institutions and universities around the world between January 2012 and December 2015.

"International collaborations have always been one of the main purposes of INAF" says President of the National Institute for Astrophysics Nichi D'Amico “we are very proud to say that a great part of the scientific facilities of modern astronomy, located all over the world, carry the prestigious label of "Made in Italy", both from the scientific perspective - thanks to the excellence of our female and male researchers and researchers who work there – and from the technological aspect, thanks to effective synergy that INAF has started with domestic industry.”

Stefania Giannini, Italian Minister of Education, Universities and Research, says "this result attests the extraordinary quality of Italian public research, on which this Government has invested unprecedented resources and has made simplifications that were expected since many years. This high acknowledgement to INAF in the field of international collaboration confirms the ability of our country to play a leading role in the scientific community and global technology. Congratulations to INAF for this achievement that fills us with pride and encourages us to move forward, as a government, to support our talents and our excellence, creating the best conditions for doing research in Italy."