Through the history of institutions, the development of scientific knowledge in Italy and Europe in its relationships with the civil, economic, and social situation is investigated. Founded in 1923 the National Research Council (CNR) was the first institution in Italy to support scientific and technological research. The history of this institution has run parallel with a very important enterprise developed in the area of international relationships at the intersection between science, technology, and politics. In this work scholars of different subjects retrace the main events in the history of CNR, analysing the crucial role played by the institute in the development of research. This first volume of the series investigates the history of the CNR from its foundation to the end of the Second World War - an extraordinary period dominated by great scientists: Vito Volterra and Guglielmo Marconi, the first two presidents of the Institute. In these years CNR grew and developed, despite the dramatic political situation and the autarchic choices of Italy, thereby revealing unsuspected scientific worth.