The 14th edition of Roses, Books, Music, Wine gets underway, the cultural festival organised by the social cooperative Agricola Monte San Pantaleone and the University of Trieste. From 9th May and on each Friday of the month, the rose garden in San Giovanni Park (awarded the Certificate of Excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies in 2015) will host meetings, walks, conversations around books, wine tastings, and musical performances.

At the heart of this fourteenth edition, the festival invites reflection on the theme What kind of power?, exploring how to recognise and promote forms of power that differ from those based on oppression, violence, and domination. This reflection is guided by the legacy of Franco Basaglia, who in 1979 observed that real change lies not in winning, but in persuading: The moment we persuade, we win, that is, we bring about a transformation that is difficult to reverse. Nearly fifty years later, this vision continues to inspire the spirit of the festival, which offers a space to nurture the belief that the impossible can become possible, that walls can be dismantled, gates opened, utopias imagined, and even realised, and that the most valuable capital a community holds is its people.

Alongside this vision comes a bitter awareness: new walls are being erected, new forms of exclusion are emerging, rights seem to be in retreat, and collective memories are fading. The power on the rise is not the one evoked by Martin Luther King, the kind that changes reality, but rather a power that subjugates, deceives, bullies, annihilates. And yet, as Italo Calvino reminded us, there is an antidote: To seek and know how to recognise who and what, in the midst of hell, is not hell, and to make it endure, and give it space.

During GO!2025 - European Capital of Culture, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) will present ‘Between skin and heart: the emotions of science in the fight against cancer’, a cycle of five theatre performances scheduled between May and October 2025 in Trieste, Udine, Gorizia and Nova Gorica. The initiative is financed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.

The University of Trieste is also a partner in the project, with participation from Serena Zacchigna, professor of Molecular Biology at UniTS and head of the ICGEB Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory. Together with Prof. Domenico Prattichizzo (University of Siena and IIT Genoa), Zacchigna brings a story which is both scientific and personal to the stage, inspired by an innovative challenge in research: to develop new anti-cancer therapies inspired by the heart, an organ rarely affected by cancer, using wearable robots that mimic a heartbeat.

The project interweaves science, storytelling and theatre to bring the public closer to the world of biomedical research, through an accessible, emotional and engaging language. On stage, researchers retrace each phase of their scientific adventure: hypotheses, obstacles, eureka moments, failures and progress, told in the first person and without the aid of slides. The show will be performed in Italian, with Slovenian subtitles and translation into sign language, making it accessibile to all.

The texts and script are by Alessandra Cotoloni and Sarita Massai, with participation from Davide Costabile, Giuseppe Di Mauro, Maryen Vasanthakumar and Alberto Villani.

Calendar of events

• 10th maggio 2025 at 15:00 – Trieste
  Scienza e Virgola Festival (SISSA) – Miela Theatre
  (event for schools)
• 11th May 2025 at 16:00 – Udine
  Vicino/Lontano Festival – Chiesa di San Francesco
  (with sign-language interpreters)
• 27th September 2025 – Trieste
  Trieste Next – Miela Theatre
  (with sign-language interpreters)
• 24th October 2025 at 18:00 – Nova Gorica
  University of Nova Gorica – Palazzo Lanthieri
  (in Italian with English subtitles)
• 25th October 2025 at 11:00 – Gorizia
  University of Trieste – Gorizia Campus – Main Hall
  (event for schools)

The University of Trieste has inaugurated the experimental ‘Community Justice’ multi-service hub: an innovative project that brings together universities, institutions, third-sector organisations and the public to promote social inclusion and restorative justice.

The initiative is the result of an agreement between the University of Trieste and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Justice - Cassa delle Ammende. The hub will be housed on the premises of the former Casa del Marinaio in Via Principe di Montfort 3 and represents an important point of connection between the world of criminal law enforcement and the community.

The centre will be the operational hub of the ‘Ripar(t)iamo’ and ‘INclusione, CONfronto, TRAttamento’ projects, which are co-funded by the Region. The projects aim to foster the socio-occupational reintegration of people who are subject to restrictions of freedom during criminal investigations, offering concrete support to crime victims and promoting programmes for restorative justice and victim-offender mediation. This work is in line with the principles of the Cartabia Reform (Italian Legislative Decree No 150/2022), which emphasises restorative justice as a tool for reintegration, reconciliation and empowerment.

The new hub will be open at least three days a week, guaranteeing welcome, support and training activities for people subject to restrictions of freedom during criminal investigations, victims of crime and practitioners. Within the hub, public bodies, third-sector organisations and academic staff will collaborate with the aim of offering innovative services and strengthening the link between institutions and citizens.

The Rector, Prof. Roberto Di Lenarda, the Regional Councillor for Health, Social Policies and Disability, Prof. Giovanni Grandi, and Dr. Gianna Zamaro attended the inauguration.

The University of Trieste and the University of Udine signed a new Framework Agreement together with AUSIR – the Authority for Water and Waste Services in Friuli Venezia Giulia and the region’s leading water and environmental service providers. In addition to AUSIR, the agreement includes the following partners: AcegasApsAmga, Acquedotto del Carso – Kraški vodovod, CAFC, HydroGEA, Irisacqua, Livenza Tagliamento Acque, A&T 2000, Ambiente Servizi, GEA – Gestioni Ecologiche e Ambientali, Isontina Ambiente, MTF, and NET.

The agreement, signed today by all partners in the Predonzani Room of the Regional Government Building in the presence of the President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, renews and expands the earlier protocol signed in 2019. It reaffirms the shared commitment to collaborate on sustainability and innovation in the management of the integrated water and waste cycle.

The new framework promotes applied research projects, joint advanced training initiatives, participation in competitive funding calls, and the valorisation of shared data, experience, and technical infrastructure.

The University of Trieste brings a strong interdisciplinary approach to the partnership, represented by Professor Paolo Bevilacqua (Department of Engineering and Architecture) and Professor Fabio Barbone (Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences), who serve as the University’s scientific coordinators. The agreement also supports inter-university masters already launched in collaboration with public service providers, including those in ‘Technology and Management of the Integrated Water Cycle’ and ‘Circular Economy and the Integrated Waste Cycle.’

‘This agreement,’ said Roberto Di Lenarda, Rector of the University of Trieste, ‘offers a concrete opportunity to launch new multidisciplinary research capable of addressing the challenges of sustainable resource management in innovative ways. Collaboration will range from the study of aquifer systems and infrastructure networks to wastewater and sludge treatment, from the economic and regulatory analysis of public services to the reuse of waste within a circular economy framework. Just as crucial is our commitment to communication and training, which are strategic levers for raising awareness and driving change at both the technical and societal level.’

Generali and the University of Trieste presented an agreement to set up a chair dedicated to Responsible and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence starting from the academic year 2025/2026. 

The announcement was made during an event at the University of Trieste, in the presence of the Rector, Roberto Di Lenarda, the Chairman of Generali, Andrea Sironi, the CFO of the Generali Group and President of Mib, Cristiano Borean, and Professor Scantamburlo, winner of the competition, moderated by Professor Luca Bortolussi – Full Professor of Computer Science at UniTS. 

The agreement will entail Generali covering the expenses for a researcher and the subsequent full-time enrolment as a university professor in the scientific-disciplinary sector INFO-01 / A - IT for the next 15 years, which was recruited at the end of the selection procedure established by the University. 

After the establishment, along with other scientific entities located in Friuli Venezia Giulia region, of the Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Institute with the aim of carrying out world-class research and promoting the transfer of knowledge in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence (an initiative that has instituted the figure of the Business Translator), Generali intends to contribute new research and training tools to understand and address the social and ethical implications related to the development and implementation of AI technologies. 

For this reason, in partnership with the University of Trieste and to mark the important anniversary, Generali will support the new chair that will enhance the university's training offer, as well as developing skills in responsible, reliable and sustainable artificial intelligence in conjunction with the Group's Academy, thus contributing to the design and implementation of special courses designed to train graduates with skills in line with occupational requirements and equipped for the new technological and ethical challenges ahead. 

The Chairman of Generali, Andrea Sironi, stated: “The scientific ecosystem of Trieste has a wealth of talent and knowledge that Generali supports and which, on this special occasion marking the 100th anniversary of the University of Trieste, is boosted by a multi-year collaboration that will set up a new chair. The goal is to invest in young people and in innovation, addressing one of the most stimulating and transformative issues of the contemporary age, Artificial Intelligence, creating an increasingly close dialogue between the academic world and the business environment.” 

The Rector of the University of Trieste, Roberto Di Lenarda, commented: “The University's mission is to preserve and allow human intelligence flourish; AI will have the task of amplifying it. For these reasons, the University of Trieste has prioritised investing in these issues in recent years. Thanks to the further, fundamental investment that Generali has decided to make in favour of the new generations, our educational offer will be enriched by a new teaching in a delicate and strategic field, in line with the emerging needs of a sector that is undergoing great and rapid evolution.” 

Teresa Scantamburlo has worked at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the University of Bristol (UK), and the European Centre for Living Technology. Her research focuses on the ethical and social impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven technologies. She has contributed to the piloting of the European ethical guidelines for trustworthy AI and is currently a member of the working group for drafting the code of conduct for general-purpose AI at the AI Office of the European Community. In February 2025, she was awarded the new Generali Chair on Responsible AI at the University of Trieste

The GO!2025 Urban Center exhibition has been officially presented at Gorizia Town Hall, bringing together the outcomes of studies, research, and projects developed over the past two academic years within RRR Lab (Integrated Architectural and Built Environment Design Laboratory at UniTS). The focus of this work has been the European Capitals of Culture, with a particular case study on Gorizia – Nova Gorica 2025.

The exhibition will be open to visitors from 31st March to 9 May 2025 in the Atrium Hall of the Conference Centre, at the University Hub in Gorizia, Via Alviano 18. The official inauguration will take place on 8th April at 17:00, followed by the presentation of the book Il corpo della città. Telo Mesta during a roundtable discussion. The event will feature representatives of various local institutions, faculty members from the University of Trieste, and other invited discussants, focusing on themes of architectural and urban regeneration.

The initiative has involved around fifty students and ten faculty members and researchers from UniTS.

The exhibition traces two years of design activities covering a range of themes, locations, scales, and disciplinary fields. These have been explored through seminars, workshops, study days, and architectural, urban, and landscape projects for the two cities, which together form a unique cross-border urban system. As Gorizia and Nova Gorica have prepared for the milestone event of becoming the European Capital of Culture 2025, the focus now shifts to what comes next. The exhibition reflects on the before and after of this transformation, highlighting the role of time in urban and architectural design.

Time, processuality, phased reasoning, and dynamics of transformation—understood as evolutionary biodynamics—have been central themes in the projects showcased. The exhibition presents the ephemeral as a driver of present-day transformation and the trace as a framework for future reflection. These ideas shaped both the 2023–24 laboratory, ‘Gorizia / Nova-Gorica Felix’, and the 2024–25 laboratory, ‘L’éphémère est éternel’.

GO!2025 Urban Center Exhibition

Curated by: Thomas Bisiani, Michela Lupieri, Adriano Venudo 
Scientific Committee: Thomas Bisiani, Alessio Bortot, Luigi Di Dato, Michela Lupieri, Giulia Piccinin, Sonia Prestamburgo, Adriano Venudo 
Studies and projects by: Collettivo Colgo and Collettivo VAGO

To book an appointment and for information, contact tbisiani@units.it or avenudo@units.it 

On Saturday, 29th March 2025, one of the most fascinating astronomical events will take place: a partial solar eclipse. The phenomenon will be visible from Italy and can be observed in real time thanks to a special live broadcast organised by the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).

From 11:15, viewers can tune in to the YouTube and Facebook channels of EduINAF for a special episode of Il Cielo in Salotto, produced in collaboration with the Valle d’Aosta Astronomical Observatory and the Italian union of amateur astronomers (Unione Astrofili Italiani). The eclipse will be captured by telescopes from various INAF locations and partner institutions across Italy, including Trieste, Rome, Genoa, and Saint-Barthélemy (Aosta).

The live event will be hosted by Federica Duras, who will guide the audience through the phenomenon with the help of expert guests. Among them will be Mauro Messerotti, a professor at UniTS and solar physicist at INAF Trieste, and Ilaria Ermolli, a researcher at INAF Rome. Viewers will have the opportunity to interact with them in real time via the live chat on social media platforms.

For many years, the Department of Physics at the University of Trieste and INAF – Trieste Astronomical Observatory have maintained a strong and well-established scientific collaboration, aimed at fostering cutting-edge research and education in the field of astronomy.

This event represents an important opportunity for science outreach and shared observation, with the goal of bringing the wider public closer to understanding our solar system and, in particular, our star – the Sun.

Watch the live stream: https://youtu.be/s3Zn7n8M7lo
Learn more about the event: https://edu.inaf.it/news/eventi/diretta-eclissi-sole-marzo-2025
How to observe the eclipse safely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x711s7XQleo

On 27th March, the world celebrates the 63rd edition of World Theatre Day, an initiative established in 1961 at the proposal of Finnish playwright Arvi Kivimaa during the 9th Congress of the International Theatre Institute (ITI).

The first World Theatre Day took place on 27th March 1962 in Paris, marking the opening of the Theatre of Nations season. Since then, it has been celebrated in over a hundred countries through ITI’s National Centres.

Each year, the occasion is highlighted by a message on theatre and peace delivered to the international community by a prominent figure from the performing arts.

Notable past contributors include Italian artists Luchino Visconti (1973) and Dario Fo (2013), as well as, more recently, Egyptian actress Samiha Ayoub (2023) and Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse (2024), whose message, Art is Peace, reflected on the deep connection between theatre, artistic expression, and the universal value of peace.

This year, the message has been entrusted to Greek actor, playwright, director, and pedagogue Theodoros Terzopoulos, who explores theatre’s ability to ‘hear the cry for help that our times are sending out in a world of impoverished citizens, locked in cells of virtual reality, entrenched in their suffocating privacy.’

On this occasion, rather than asking whether theatre, a form of art that has accompanied humanity for over three millennia, can resolve major global issues, we reflect on whether the stage and storytelling can still inspire society to critically engage with its weaknesses and mistakes.

‘Theatre’s ability to impact communities has been repeatedly proven throughout history, as evidenced by the suspicion with which those in power have often regarded it,’ says Paolo Quazzolo, Associate Professor of Theatre History at the University of Trieste.

‘Its ‘live’ nature, the magnetism of actors performing directly before an audience, the profound emotions evoked by the stage – these have often led to censorship attempts, though always in vain.
Theatre’s power has never waned, even in a society that, after centuries of gradual transformation, has undergone a rapid technological revolution. Cinema, television, digital media, and now the internet have all been strong competitors, yet theatre has survived, retaining its unique persuasive force.

In 2020, during the pandemic, theatres were among the first institutions to close. Organisers sought alternative solutions, often moving performances online, leading to fears that audiences might not return to physical theatres once the emergency ended. However, this was not the case—spectators eagerly returned, reaffirming the cultural, social, and political strength of theatre, which it will always continue to hold.’

Once again, the Aula Magna of the University of Trieste hosted the selections for the 18th edition of the Coppa Aurea, a team math competition that pits high school students from across Italy against each other.

Over 200 participants, representing 24 schools from Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, from the provinces of Trieste, Gorizia, Udine, Pordenone, Treviso, Venice, and Padua, competed in the event organized by the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Geosciences at UniTS.

The Leonardo da Vinci high school from Treviso raised the cup in Piazzale Europa with the team "I 7 del Leone"; the second place was claimed by the Galilei high school, which, after seven years, brought a school from Friuli Venezia Giulia back onto the podium with the team "I Piani Complessi."

The third place went to the Ippolito Nievo high school from Padua with the team "Gente poco seria," while just outside the podium, the fourth place was sweet for the ISIS Malignani of Udine, which secured the last qualifying spot for the national finals scheduled for May in Cesenatico.

The preliminaries were held simultaneously at 37 locations across Italy, with a total of 4788 students tackling 21 questions.

The "Coppa Aurea" is an initiative aimed at engaging students with mathematics in a fun and playful way. The required team-based approach encourages participants to organize tasks rationally and, most importantly, fosters collaboration and respect for others.

The Trieste trophy will be up for grabs again in the next edition and will be awarded definitively to the institution that wins three times. Currently, the Ippolito Nievo high school from Padua leads with two victories, followed by the da Vinci high school from Treviso and the Levi high school from Montebelluna, each with one win.

The last days to visit the exhibition "1924-2024. A century of history of the University of Trieste. Images and documents." The exhibition, dedicated to the Centenary of the Trieste University and hosted in the magnificent spaces of the Bastione Fiorito at the San Giusto Castle, will close on Sunday, November 10.

The installation, created by the University of Trieste with the support of the University's Museum System (smaTs) and in co-organization with the Municipality of Trieste and with the contribution of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, has been a great success so far, registering almost 15,000 visitors.

The creation of the exhibition, one of the main events of the program celebrating the hundred years since the foundation of the University, represents the perfect expression of the synergy between local institutions that UniTS strongly pursued during this year dedicated to telling its history and sharing a vision for the future.

It was also an opportunity for the University to meet the citizens in a symbolic location of the city, such as the San Giusto Castle, which is a shared heritage.

The exhibition route also allowed the University of Trieste to experiment with a fruitful dialogue with the city's, regional, and even broader cultural world, unveiling its documentary, historical, architectural, and artistic heritage.

For those who haven't visited yet, the exhibition is divided into four distinct parts, balancing historical sources and aesthetic references.

The historical section, curated by Tullia Catalan and Lorenzo Ielen, traces the history of the hundred years of the Trieste University through a selection of images, documents, and videos from the University’s Historical Archive and numerous public and private archives, both local and regional. This section tells the journey that led the University to international openness, especially in the fields of research and technical-scientific disciplines.

The architectural section, curated by Paolo Nicoloso and Marko Pogacnik, focuses on the design of the central building of the University in 1938, a structure with strong symbolic references. Illustrated through technical drawings from the time and some images, this section presents the complexity and richness of the solutions developed by the designers.

The audiovisual section, curated by Massimiliano Spanu and Daniele Terzoli, highlights the rediscovered film Pagine d’Università, made in 1956 by Anna Gruber, an actress, director, screenwriter, and internationally renowned Triestine writer. The film was found in the A. Hortis Civic Library - Diplomatic and Archival Collections. Other films displayed in the exhibition are from the Istituto Luce Historical Archive and the La Cineteca del Friuli - Cinema Archive of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Archival research was carried out in collaboration with the La Cappella Underground research center.

The artistic section, curated by Massimo Degrassi and Lorenzo Michelli, includes a selection of works—now preserved in the Rectorate's Pinacoteca—presented in 1953 at the National Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Painting held at the University of Trieste. The final part of the exhibition presents a selection of works donated to the University by thirty-five artists and collectors on the occasion of this Centenary.

The exhibition is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission is included in the ticket for the San Giusto Castle (full price 6 euros; reduced 4 euros).

On the occasion of the finissage on Sunday, November 10, there will be a free guided tour at 11:00 AM.