With the exceptional presence of the physicist Giorgio Parisi the event ended with a great success cultural review of the Lievito Association in Latina, chaired by Melia Mangano and closed since 2019.
From 25 to 30 April the city hosted, in its most famous places, well-known faces from the Italian artistic and journalistic panorama, including Sigfrido Ranucci, Angela Iantosca, Riccardo Cucchi, the director Daniele Luchetti and, last but not least, Giorgio Parisi, Nobel Prize for Physics in 2021.
Yesterday evening, 30 April, a Teatro D’Annunzio packed with people warmly welcomed Professor Parisi: the event was sold out after a few minutes, a sign that the city wanted this meeting.
And in general the entire Lievito 2024 event was very well attended.
Giorgio Parisi in Latina
Giorgio Parisi was winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for his studies on complex systems. Honored with him were the Japanese meteorologist and climatologist Syukuro Manabe and the German oceanographer and climate modeler Klaus Hasselmann.
Born in Rome in 1948 and graduated in Physics at La Sapienza University of Rome in 1970, where he has been professor emeritus since 1992, Giorgio Parisi was a researcher at the National Research Council (Cnr). He collaborated with Columbia University and the Ecole Normale Superieure de Paris. He was also president of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the oldest scientific academy in the world.
Despite his titles and the monumentality of his person, Giorgio Parisi presented himself to the Latin public in a way genuine, generous and obviously, brilliantimmediately establishing a sincere contact.
He spoke of his familiarity with numbers from an early age; of having read Churchill’s History of the Second World War at 12 years old, of having presented himself for the mathematical physics exam after simply reading the exam programme, of his passion for cooking, dancing and novels.
D’Annunzio’s audience fascinated
The skilled management of Dr. Gianni Morelli, of Lievito Scienza, woven the interview with Parisi, connecting in a completely natural way fundamental themes for modern society and allowing the professor to touch on them one by one, sharing interpretation keys with the public, perplexities and needs.
It was talked about climate change, medicine, literature, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, politics, education and much more, in a generous and continuous exploration of Parisi’s life and the many encounters that marked his path.
The introduction to each macro theme of the debate was constructed by screening short clips of famous films or speeches by illustrious figures on the Italian scene, so as to make the meeting more dynamic and contribute to the further diffusion of culture.
Many interesting book titles also emerged: Science denied by Enrico Bellone, Count and tell by Carlo Bernardini and Tullio De Mauro, Fontamara by Ignazio Silone whom Parisi knew personally.
A generous half hour was then dedicated to questions from the audience. The people in the rooms immediately proved proactive and eager to interface with Professor Parisi.
Parisi’s thoughts on young people and culture
A few minutes of The best youth (2003) by Marco Tullio Giordana launches the theme of brain drain from Italy: a country “so beautiful and so useless” as defined in the film.
A snippet of Good Morning Babylon (1987) by the Taviani brothers introduces that ofcultural heritage.
Parisi expresses himself in this regard:
“It is not enough to be the son of Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo to say you have culture. Culture is a chain that is built. This Italianness is not a matter of blood, but of culture.
For this reason the decline of schools and academies must be fought. The teacher’s social prestige is decreasing as is her economic recognition.
Italy, then, is not a country for young people and this is a problem that no one talks about as much as they should. In most cases, boys and girls with a certain academic preparation leave, exporting an enormous amount of energy.
Teaching is a responsibility huge, but take responsibility for encourage and finance talent that we form, And a duty just as big.”
Dates that Latina needs
The sold out first, the standing ovations at the opening and at the end of the event, generous bursts of applause, hands raised and too little time. The generous response of a Latina who exists, eager to organize, finance, offer and enjoy together the wisdom and experience of prominent figures of our time.
Culture is a chain that is built and Lievito is doing its part.
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