With the show “Newton Spectra: A Human History of Light”staged by Teatro Rossosimona with the consultancy of Unical, The Cosmos Festival has officially opened which, until October 13th, will concentrate the best of scientific literature on the metropolitan territory. Next Sunday, therefore, after a long weekend dedicated to Physics, Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mathematics, the “Francesco Cilea” theater will be the stage for the final evening with the presentation of the Cosmos Prize for the best book in the sector and the symphonic concert “On the image” of the “Francesco Cilea” theater orchestra.
On the opening evening, the CineTeatro Metropolitano welcomed teachers, scientists, luminaries and many students, the true protagonists of the entire event. Before the show written by Lorenzo Praticò, it was the metropolitan councilor delegated to Culture, Filippo Quartuccio, who brought greetings from the organization represented in the room, for the occasion, also from the director Giuseppina Attanasio and the entire staff of Sector 2 of Alvaro Palace.
“Cosmos – said Quartuccio – is now a point of reference for us. It is the main event that qualifies the Metropolitan City’s commitment to the valorisation and promotion of scientific culture. It is an investment that we wanted to make, as early as 2018, on the initiative of the mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà, involving a series of professionals from all over the world”. “Thanks to Cosmos – he added – we have started a series of truly important relationships on a scientific and institutional level. Our partners are the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education and the National Institute of Astrophysics.” “The fact that Cosmos is being held in Reggio Calabria – concluded Quartuccio – is indicative of how our territory is becoming increasingly attractive, thanks also to a series of territorial promotion actions planned by the mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà”.
For Gianfranco Bertone, president of the scientific jury of the Cosmos Prize and professor at the University of Amsterdam, “the hope is always to involve the general public, the entire territory and bring them closer to the world of science”. “This year – he explained – we have many events that will bring great scientists to Reggio Calabria and we have planned many meeting points with the young people of our territory. Cosmos, in fact, has become an important event for Italy and abroad which includes a Cosmos Award in France and another in Holland”. “The objective – continued Bertone – is to continue to grow the Festival to make it not only a moment of meeting between citizens and scientists, but also an opportunity to attract a large audience capable of developing a return of image for our city and beyond.”
And while for Riccardo Barberi, teacher at Unical, Cosmos has “the will and ambition to make science subjects accessible to everyone”, Anna Brancaccio, Coordinator of the Cosmos Prize for the Ministry of Education, spoke of ” an event that involves many schools and, therefore, for the dicastery it is a very important event”. “We believe that the value of the project is fundamental – he explained. In these days we will talk about science, culture and society: three topics that are the pillar on which the Italian school must move.” “The Cosmos Prize – he stated – contributes with a valuable activity to the achievement of these three pillars of our students’ education. We promote it and we are happy that it has this impact not only on the city of Reggio Calabria, but also on the whole country if we consider that several institutes from other regions participated”. “It should also be highlighted – concluded Brancaccio – that Cosmos promotes, with commitment, reading, especially of popular scientific texts, an activity very consistent with the action promoted by our Ministry, on the proposal of the Minister, Giuseppe Valditara”.
After a morning spent at the Pythagoras Planetarium of the Metropolitan City, today, starting from 5.00 pm, the Cosmos Festival will stop at the Archaeological Museum with the conference “Advanced technologies for cultural heritage: ThomX and Star”, curated by Daniele Nutarelli, of the University of Paris, and Raffaele Agostino of Unical. At 8.30 pm, the Cosmos caravan will return to the Planetarium in via Margherita Hack for the conference “On the tail of comets beyond the solar system”, organized by Alessandra Rotundi of the Parthenope University of Naples. Observation of the sky will follow together with the Pythagoras staff. During the Festival, various scientific laboratories are active, organized by Unirc, Unical and Cnr-Ipcf in Palazzo Alvaro, in Piazza Italia and Castello Aragonese.