FERMI@Elettra is a new 4th-generation light source currently under construction at the Elettra laboratory. It is based on a single pass free electron laser consisting in 1.5-GeV normal-conducting linac and two chains of undulators where the photon beams are produced with a seeded laser multistage mechanism. The control system interfaces to and controls all devices and systems of the facility. The hardware architecture has been designed using commercial components and open standards, and a software environment based on Linux and the Tango control system is deployed on all computers. The personnel safety and the equipment protection systems rely on a well established technology based on PLCs. A real time infrastructure based on a dedicated Ethernet network and a real time implementation of Linux provides centralized shot-by-shot data acquisition at the linac repetition rate, as well as synchronized setting of the controlled variables required to implement feedback loops. Special care has been taken to provide a productive environment that will allow development of control room applications both for the commissioning and the operation phases.