Professor Luciano Campanacci, one of the masters of Italian Internal Medicine, has passed away. In a few days, he would have turned 96.

Born in Parma and graduating with top marks in Bologna, he was first a student in Rome of Professor Cataldo Cassano at the Institute of Medical Pathology, and later of Professor Ernico Fiaschi at the Medical Pathology Department of the University of Padua. During this period, he spent several periods abroad, contributed to the founding of the School of Nephrology, and helped establish—among the first in Italy—the hemodialysis service, which he directed from its inception.

In 1974, as a Full Professor of Internal Medicine, he moved to Trieste as Director of the Institute of Medical Pathology, later renamed Clinical Medicine, bringing with him several collaborators from Padua, including Professor Guarnieri.

In Trieste, Professor Campanacci founded a highly regarded School of Nephrology and also led and expanded the Internal Medicine school. He surrounded himself with collaborators whose professional development he fostered, guiding them not only in Nephrology but also toward other branches of Internal Medicine such as Gastroenterology, Hematology, Endocrinology, and Hepatology, encouraging them to undertake numerous periods abroad. Some of them later dedicated themselves to the study of arterial hypertension, forming a group known throughout Italy and participating as founding members in the creation of the Italian Society of Hypertension.

Many of his students went on to achieve leading positions both in academia and in clinical practice in Trieste and the surrounding region.

He was the author of numerous scientific publications and took part as a speaker in many scientific conferences.

For his students, he was an outstanding teacher: rigorous, demanding, always available, and open-minded.

The University of Trieste remembers him with great esteem and affection for his exemplary work with students and colleagues.