They will be, for the second consecutive year, the Castellana caves the location chosen for European Researchers' Night, organized byIRCCS Saverio de Bellis of Castellana Grotte Under the patronage of the Municipality of Castellana Grotte, the Puglia Region, Grotte di Castellana srl, and the Ministry of Health. On Friday, September 27, 2019, meet in Piazzale Anelli for what promises to be a multisensory journey through art and science.
The program is rich, equally divided between the external and internal part of the Apulian karst complex, among the main tourist attractions of Apulia and among the most visited paid tourist sites in Italy: in Piazzale Anelli at 18 hours orienteering course organized by the Tauro-Viterbo Comprehensive Institute of Castellana Grotte and the 18,30 hours opening ceremony of the European Researchers' Night with Michele Emiliano, President of the Puglia Region, Maria Novella Luciani, General Directorate of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Health, Vito Montanaro, director of the Department for Health Promotion and Social Welfare, Francesco De Ruvo, mayor of Castellana Grotte, Victor Casulli, president of Grotte di Castellana srl, Tommaso Stallone e Roberto Di Paola, respectively general director and scientific director of the Saverio de Bellis IRCCS in Castellana Grotte.
From 19 hours we descend into the cave, inside the Grave, with the multisensory experience dedicated to the Researchers' Night with "The search for lights and colours in nature" curated by the artist Addamian Christmas and the art critic Gianni Antonio Palumbo and with “The search for harmonies in nature” edited by Giusy Frallonardo.
All 21 hours, inside the Franco Anelli Speleological Museum, award ceremony for the drawings dedicated to the Researchers' Night made by the children of the Tauro-Viterbo Comprehensive Institute of Castellana Grotte with an introduction by Gianluigi Giannelli, scientific director of the IRCCS de Bellis and with the presentation of the awards by the artist Natale Addamiano.
Closing at 21,30 hours with a convivial buffet, again inside the Anelli Museum. The journalist will host the various moments of the evening Stefania Losito.
Researchers' Night is an initiative promoted by the European Commission since 2005, involving thousands of researchers and research institutions across Europe every year. The goal is to create opportunities for researchers and citizens to meet and spread scientific culture and knowledge of research professions in an informal and stimulating environment. Events include live scientific experiments and demonstrations, exhibitions and guided tours, conferences and seminars, performances, and concerts. Italy joined the European initiative from the start with a variety of projects, traditionally making it one of the European countries with the largest number of events across the country.
In 2019, 116 Italian cities will be involved. Among these, of course, is Castellana Grotte and the Castellana Caves, with the program organized by the Saverio de Bellis Institute for the Study of Contemporary Art.
The Castellana initiative, like those in Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto, and Rome, is part of the Ern Apulia project, funded by the European Commission. There will be numerous topics and ways to disseminate and participate. Common themes will include the Universe, the Subatomic World, the Biosphere, Cultural Heritage, Human Sciences, and Future Technologies, but the various sites will also focus on activities characterizing research in the area, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, personalized medicine, aerospace, agri-food, materials for sustainability, the Mediterranean diet, and archaeology.
Ern Apulia is coordinated by the University of Salento and involves state universities and the main public research institutions in Puglia: the University of Bari, the Polytechnic of Bari, the University of Foggia, the public research institutions CNR, INFN, ENEA, IIT, as well as the IRCCS de Bellis in Castellana Grotte with Grotte di Castellana srl and the MArTA Museum in Taranto.
