Logic Programming in Italy: A Historical Perspective

The history of Logic Programming in Italy is largely that of GULP, the Italian Association of Users and Researchers in Logic Programming. This paper provides a historical perspective on the birth and development of GULP in the last 25 years. The paper is mainly concerned with what has been done in Italy, but it also points out the many relationships and synergies that emerged - and still exist - in the field of Logic Programming, between Italy and other countries all over the world. I identify three main periods in the history of GULP, which closely correspond to different seasons in the history of Logic Programming in general, and I try to characterize them in terms of activities the GULP supported and of the achievements obtained by its members.