1930s & 40s
That Radius line of pens were originally introduced in the 1930s and 1940s. The company, founded by Enrico Lattes circa 1926, operated outside of Turino, under the name SAFIS (Società Anonima Fabbrica Italiana Stilografiche). Letizia Lacopini has published information on the company.
It is interesting to read that at the time, Settimo Torinese, located seven miles from the town of Turin, could be considered the "pen capital" of Italy due to the number of companies producing pens located in the area. Around 1940 there were over 160 pen manufactures.
The Radius brand was introduced in 1934. The name Radius evolved, in part from the historical events of Italy. I found the history provided by Letizia Lacopini very interesting, specifically in relation to the policy of self-sufficiency to acquire indpendence of Italy. It impacted not only production but use of language on products. SAFIS evidently abandoned the previous brand name "The King" using the name Radius.
In 2024 the Radius brand has been reborn by Mariafrancesca and Salvatore Matrone.
The company has initially issued three collections of pens.
Autarchic & Superior - pens in these lines are inspired by the magic of the Italian Cinque Terre. The Autarchica collection uses steel nibs, the Superior collection uses 14 kt gold nibs. The pens use a piston fill ink supply system.
Settimo -this line as a direct linkage to history. Settimo (seventh in Italian), was a commune seven Roman miles from Turin, and was a centre of production for fountain pens during the post-war period. The pens have a steel nib and a cartridge converter ink supply system.