Jan. 21 – “One hundred and fifty years of Italian genius. Innovations that change the world” is the title of the exhibition that will be inaugurated on Thursday at the Design Terminal of Budapest. Organized by the local Italian Institute of Culture, in collaboration with the Fondazione Rosselli, the exhibition is dedicated to the Italian discoveries, projects and inventions that have had a decisive impact on both society and industry, some of which at the worldwide level:
from Marconi to Chiariglione, Pirelli, Natta, Fermi and Rubbia. The interactive exhibition narrates the story of Italian scientists through the impact of their inventions on our daily lives. The exhibition includes 5 broad areas. “Living the new” highlights how our relationship with objects in our daily lives has changed. Giulio Natta invented plastic; Alessandro Cruto invented the light bulb. Antonio Meucci changed communication between people with the invention of the phone; Camillo Olivetti invented the typing machine, thus changing our approach to the written word; while Leonardo Chiariglione forever revolutionized our way to listen to music with the invention of the standard MP3. The second broad theme is “To travel is to know,” in which Barsanti and Matteucci invented the internal combustion engine; Dante Giacosa invented the economy car; and Corradino D’Ascanio the Vespa, thus shaping postwar Italy. Part of the exhibition is reconnected to the job market. Though working is a hard activity, technology can make it an easier task, making tools for a more comfortable life: Galileo Ferraris understood the basic advantages of electric traction compared to conventional mechanics; Germano Sommeiller designed what made possible the Frejus tunnel; Giacomo Fauser reached the industrial synthesis of ammonia, which opened new possibilities for the nitrogen fertilizers industry; finally, to Pier Giorgio Perotto we owe the first PC, and to Federico Faggin the first microprocessor. The Budapest exhibit also dedicates a hall to “overcoming borders,” Guglielmo Marconi as the forerunner of wireless technology; Fermi as the first atom explorer, which would then lead to Cabibbo, Rubbia, and Geneva’s CERN. Other borders were drawn by mathematicians such as Vito Volterra, who applied mathematics to biological systems. Particular attention is also granted to innovative medical research: Grassi and Coluzzi actively contributed to the study and prevention of malaria; Bizzozero worked on histology; Ida Bianco and Ezio Silvestroni were active in the genetics field; while for agricultural genetics there is Nazareno Strampelli, who anticipated the so-called “Green Revolution;” in neurosciences, Camillo Golgi, Giuseppe Moruzzi Giacomo Rizzolatti are the researchers presented. The exhibition will run until February 7.
150 Years of Italian Genius, between Innovation and Research
