Thirty years of pulsar studies at ESO. The Italian Contribution

In May 1982, when Italy joined ESO, only two isolated neutron stars (INSs) had been identified in the optical: the Crab and Vela pulsars. Thanks to the ESO telescopes and the perseverance of a few Italian astronomers, now about 30 INSs have been identified in the optical/IR, and a new important channel in their multi-wavelength studies has been opened. In this contribution, I review the major steps in 30 years of INS studies at ESO, highlight the role of Italian astronomers, and introduce future perspectives with the E-ELT.