150 years of Italian Genius- Innovations Changing the World
December 15, 2011, 6:00pm - Opening of the exhibition “150 Years of Italian Genius”
Location: Italian Cultural Institute of New York, 686 Park Avenue, New York, NY
The Exhibition:
Introduction
Scientific research has greatly improved our quality of life. The excellence of Italian scientific
research has impacted society, stimulated methodological and organizational change, and developed
new categories of thought. Through its findings, scientific research has increased our knowledge and
understanding of natural phenomena. It has helped alter our style of reasoning and interpretive
categories. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Italian Unification, the Italian Cultural Institute
presents a unique exhibition to emphasize the creativity and genius of Italian scientists and
researchers from various disciplines, in the historic context of the period in which they led. The
exhibition is divided into macro-areas or thematic clusters that recreate an ideal environment that
reflect the divisions of our ordinary lives. Each cluster will be represented by a testimonial from a
scientist who personifies the field, accompanied by a series of fellow travelers: i.e., other scientists
who preceded or followed the scientist in time and are thematically related to him.
The Five Clusters:
1) Experience the New
Basic and applied science has always led to the
discovery of innovations that change the way we
live. Giulio Natta changed everyday life through
his invention of Moplen plastic. Shortly before
Natta, Giovanni Battista Pirelli, a late nineteenthcentury Milanese engineer, helped usher in the
age of the bicycle and the automobile through
his rubber factory. He is also responsible for
inventing and producing the electric wires that
contributed so much to the second industrialization of the Italy in which Cruto e Olivetti – followers
of Galileo Ferraris – blazed new paths to the future.
Testimonial:
Giulio NATTA (isotactic polypropylene)
Fellow Travelers:
Alessandro CRUTO (electric light bulb)
Giovanni Battista PIRELLI (electric wire and pneumatic tires)
Camillo OLIVETTI (typewriter)
Antonio MEUCCI (the telephone)
Vitale BRAMANI (the Vibram)
Sidebar to science:
Primo LEVI (The Periodic Table, Other People’s Trades)
Environment:
The Laboratory of Giulio Natta
2) Traveling and Learning
The 1907 Peking-Paris race was won by Scipione Borghese, driving an Itala. This victory proved to the
world that the automobile could become a means of transportation for traveling anywhere and by
anyone. Travel is a metaphor for knowledge, and Italian genius was able to teach the world new ways
of living through a new style of locomotion. While the Vespa was the first true “utility” vehicle, we
should not forget the challenges and adventures of Dante Giacosa at Fiat or of Enrico Mattei at ENI.
Not to mention Pinin-Farina, who managed to transport across the ocean an Italian aesthetic of
beauty,
combining
art
and
technology.
Testimonial:
Corradino
D’ASCANIO (the Vespa)
Fellow Travelers:
PININ-
FARINA (auto bodies)
Enrico
FORLANINI (the dirigible)
Dante GIACOSA (utility car)
Ardito DESIO, Umberto NOBILE(exploration)
E.BARSANTI e F.MATTEUCCI (internal combustion engine)
Giuseppe GABRIELLI (airplane)
Sidebar to science:
Luigi BARZINI, Sr. (Peking to Paris, An Account of Prince Borghese’s Journey
Across Two Continents in a Motor-Car)
Environment:
Italian landscape of the 1950s with a Vespa and utilitaria
3) New Frontiers
True research always poses the challenge of frontiers that separate us from unknown worlds, ranging
from the infinite, such as space, to the infinitesimal, such as subatomic particles. Marconi succeeded
in finding an application for invisible Hertzian waves, and Enrico Fermi created new possibilities for
atomic research.
Even space and mountain exploration (from altitudes reaching 8,000-meter
summits) have benefited from the contributions of Italian genius, especially Angelo Mosso and
Giuseppe Colombo. Other perhaps less “visible” frontiers were crossed by mathematicians.
Testimonial:
Guglielmo MARCONI
(the wireless telegraph)
Fellow Travelers:
Germain SOMMEILLER
(Fréjus Rail Tunnel between France and Italy)
Enrico FERMI and his
group (nuclear reactor)
Giuseppe COLOMBO,
Franco MALERBA (tethered satellite system)
Vito VOLTERRA(analysis, mathematical biology)
Andrea VITERBI (Viterbi algorithm)
Nicola CABIBBO(theory of weak interaction)
Sidebar to science:
Italo CALVINO (Mr. Palomar)
Environment:
Radio Room of Marconi’s Yacht, “The Elettra”
4) More efficient and pleasant working conditions
Work is exhausting, but technology can make it less burdensome and transform its products into
instruments
for
a
better
and
more
comfortable life. Galileo Ferraris realized the
basic advantages of electric traction over
traditional mechanics. There were also
those who strove to give the workplace a
more human face by transforming the
factory into a community of people. It was
in just such a factory that the first personal
computer was born. Italian electronics have
also left their mark on the history of
progress.
Testimonial:
Galileo FERRARIS (the induction motor)
Fellow Travelers:
Piergiorgio PEROTTO (the first personal computer)
Federico FAGGIN (the microprocessor)
Carlo RUBBIA (high-energy physics)
Giacomo FAUSER (ammonia synthesis)
Sidebar to science:
Carlo Emilio GADDA (Milanese Meditations)
Environment:
A Room from Olivetti Headquarters in Ivrea
5) To heal is to live
Medicine is an ancient practice but a modern
science. It was inside the laboratories of the
University of Turin in the second half of the
nineteenth century, amid a resurgence of neopositivist thinking, that an Institute was founded
where major breakthroughs were made in the fields of scientific surgery and anthropology. Among
the students trained under Professor Giulio Bizzozero were future Nobel laureates and explorers of
advanced microbiology and neurology.
Testimonial:
Salvador LURIA (bacteriology)
Fellow Travelers:
Giulio BIZZOZERO (modern anatomy)
Giacomo RIZZOLATTI (mirror neurons)
Battista GRASSI, Ida BIANCO(malaria)
Nazareno STRAMPELLI, G.T. SCARASCIA
MUGNOZZA(agricultural genetics)
Vittorio ERSPAMER(serotonin)
Around Science:
Alberto BURRI (the “cracked” paintings)
Environment:
The laboratory of Giulio Bizzozero or Battista Grassi
Location of the Exhibition
The exhibit will be open to the general public, at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, from
December 16, 2011 to January, 27 2012.
Opening night ceremony in New York, December 15, 2011 at the Consulate General of Italy, (690
Park Avenue)
6:00PM – Welcome remarks followed by screening of documentary “Italy’s Future” and will be held
on.
Following the screening, at 6:45 pm, the audience will be led to the exhibit next door at the Italian
Cultural Institute of New York (686 Park Avenue).
Organization
The exhibition is organized by Fondazione Rosselli, promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute of New
York in collaboration with the Accademia dei Lincei and the Festival of Science of Genoa.
Scientific Leadership:
• Prof. Riccardo Viale
Scientific Board:
• Dr. Vittorio Bo
• Prof. Vittorio Marchis
• Dr. Stefano Gattei
• Prof. Gilberto Corbellini
Execution and Organization:
• Fondazione Rosselli
Exhibition Design and Construction:
•
Studio Dedalo, Turin
Press contact:
Eva Zanardi
Director of Communications
Italian Cultural Institute New York
686 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
Tel. 212 879-4242 ext.333
Fax 212 861-4018
[email protected]
www.iicnewyork.esteri.it