The University’s new Art Gallery boasts around one hundred artworks, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and photographs by artists such as Tullio Vietri, Giovanni Pulze, Arturo Rietti, Marcello Mascherini, Twombly Cy, Serse Roma and Giacinto Cerone, donated to the University thanks to the initiative ‘A Trieste mi piaceva tornare: doni arte per il Centenario dell'Università’ (I liked coming back to Trieste: gifts of art for the University's centenary).

Special mention should go to the ten works of contemporary art, mixed media and installations, created as part of the #SBLAD – Shine Bright Like A Diamond, Residenze d’artista (Artist Residencies).

The new exhibition space, which will in the future also be open to the whole city and not only to students and the university community, is the result of the artistic projects organized for UniTS’ centenary.

It was, in fact, the University Museum Services (smaTs) that wanted to create a new centenary collection through the Donors ’24 project that was connected to the famous 1953-1954 Art Exhibition held at the University of Trieste.

Many artists and collectors expressed their willingness to donate one or more works to commemorate the University's centenary, a selection of which was already exhibited in summer 2024 at the centenary exhibition held at the Pomis Bastion of San Giusto Castle.

In continuity with that initiative and almost serving as a seal for the entire centenary, the University of Trieste has now committed itself to enhancing the significant artistic heritage donated to the University.

So that generosity of artists and donors could live on and be shared, a suitable space was found to preserve and exhibit the donated works. In this way the University’s cultural heritage shall be conserved, enjoyed and transmitted to future generations. This is why the University of Trieste Art Gallery was created in the humanities section of UniTS library.

The Art Gallery will be a permanent place for reflection on the relationship and mutual interaction between universities, art, culture and society. It will be a place that will allow visitors to appreciate the complexity of contemporary art, to identify the works that most move them and that best narrate both the major challenges and the opportunities arising from the rapid and profound cultural changes of our day.

The publication of the Donors Catalogue ’24 accompanies and illustrates the inauguration of the University of Trieste Art Gallery.

The opening was attended by: the Rector, Roberto Di Lenarda; the Head of the Department of Humanities, Massimo Degrassi; Francesca Fiorentini (smaTs Coordinator) and Bruno Callegher (smaTs staff member); Ilaria Garofolo, former Deputy Rector for Energy and Building management, Anna del Bianco, FVG Director for Culture and Sport; Lorenzo Michelli, curator of the installation of the Art Gallery.
 

Scientists from the Muon g-2 experiment, hosted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and involving a broad international collaboration, including numerous researchers from Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), have announced their third and final measurement of the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment. This result is consistent with those published in 2021 and 2023 but achieves significantly greater precision: 127 parts per billion, surpassing the original experimental design goal of 140 parts per billion.

Muons, the focus of the Muon g-2 experiment, are fundamental particles similar to electrons but approximately 200 times more massive. Like electrons, they possess a quantum property called ‘spin,’ which endows them with a magnetic moment, making them behave like tiny magnets. When exposed to an external magnetic field, muons undergo a rotational motion known as precession, akin to the wobble of a spinning top tilted relative to a vertical axis. The precession frequency in a magnetic field depends on the muon’s properties, described by a number called the ‘g-factor.’ Nearly a century ago, theoretical physicists predicted a g-factor value of 2 based on the Standard Model of particle physics. However, experimental measurements soon revealed that g slightly exceeds 2 due to a quantity known as the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment (a_μ), calculated as (g−2)/2.

Measuring this anomaly with the highest possible precision is the objective of the Muon g-2 experiment, which derives its name from the formula (g−2)/2.

The Muon g-2 collaboration comprises 179 scientists from 37 institutions across seven countries. The Italian INFN group has been actively involved since the experiment’s inception, playing leading roles and contributing significantly to its success. They designed and implemented two systems that substantially reduced the overall uncertainty in measuring the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment: an absolute laser calibration system for the calorimeters used in energy measurements, and a high-sensitivity optical magnetometer for detecting magnetic transients. Additionally, they played a crucial role in the extensive data analysis efforts leading to the final result.

‘Thanks to the deployment and synergy of diverse expertise, from optics and laser specialists to computing and data analysis experts, the Italian INFN group was critically important to the success of the measurement,’ concludes Giovanni Cantatore, physicist at UniTS and the INFN Trieste Section, and leader of the Italian Muon g-2 team.

The muon’s anomalous magnetic moment is influenced by all particles within the Standard Model. A discrepancy between experimental results and theoretical predictions, as observed in the past, could indicate the presence of physical processes not accounted for in the current theoretical framework, suggesting the need to revise or even extend the Standard Model. Accordingly, the international Muon g-2 Theory Initiative has worked in parallel with the experimental group to refine theoretical calculations. In addition to techniques based on data from various experiments, which previously yielded values in tension with those from Fermilab, a computational approach leveraging high-performance computing has recently been adopted. This method has produced a theoretical prediction closer to the experimental measurement, though not yet fully aligned with it.

While the primary analysis of the Muon g-2 experiment has concluded, the extensive dataset collected over the past six years offers opportunities for further exploration. In the future, the collaboration plans to measure another muon property known as the electric dipole moment and to test a fundamental symmetry in physical laws known as CPT symmetry (charge, parity, and time reversal).

An international research group has designed a new low-cost catalyst for the production of propylene, which is more efficient and sustainable, doesn’t require processing crude oil and uses less of the rare and expensive precious metal, platinum. Propylene, which is essential in the production of plastics, fibres, automotive components and electronic devices, is considered a key raw material in the industrial sector. Its annual production exceeded 160 million tonnes in 2023 with a forecast of over 200 million tonnes in 2030.

The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal ‘Nature’ and will have a significant impact on the industrial sector. Among the researchers was Paolo Fornasiero, professor at the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Trieste, associated with the Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds of the Italian National Research Council (ICCOM-CNR) in Florence and member of the National Interuniversity Consortium for Materials Science and Technology (INSTM).

The research conducted by Professor Fornasiero and his research team presents a concrete solution, which improves what is already considered a valid alternative to the production of propylene from crude oil. The alternative is the process of the ‘dehydrogenation’ (PDH) of propane (a component of natural gas), splitting the bonds between carbon and hydrogen and as a result forming propylene and releasing hydrogen. Triggered at very high temperatures, dehydrogenation uses platinum catalysts, a metal that is easily susceptible to aggregation and deterioration when used repeatedly (the ‘sintering’ phenomenon). As well as producing propylene, the high temperatures used to trigger the reaction also lead to the formation of solid carbon deposits and other undesirable products that can compromise the catalyst. The process is, therefore, still inefficient for bridging the gap between the supply and demand of propylene.

Paolo Fornasiero, professor at the University of Trieste, associated with the ICCOM-CNR Institute in Florence and member of the INSTM consortium, commented: ‘With a view to an increasingly sustainable, less polluting and energy-intensive economy, our study offers the possibility of significantly reducing the use of platinum, maintaining or even improving performance, while avoiding the processes of decommissioning and regeneration of the catalyst currently required in industrial plants due to their rapid degradation.’

The catalysts obtained by the researchers, encapsulating platinum clusters in appropriate zeolites (minerals with crystalline and microporous structure), can actually maintain high activity and selectivity for over six months in industrial conditions, whereas catalysts currently used are active for only a few weeks.

As well as improving the overall efficiency of the process, researchers also expect significant economic and environmental benefits, such as reduced operating and maintenance costs of industrial catalysts, drastically reduced catalyst reactivation/replacement cycles, reduced waste and platinum use.

The international research group involves Professor Paolo Fornasiero, Professors Haibo Zhu and Xiaojun Bao and their collaborators from the University of Fuzhou (China), Professor Jean-Marie Basset at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia), with contributions from the Qingyuan Innovation Laboratory (China) and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (China).

The publication comes just a few days after another publication on the same topic, by the same research group which appeared in the prestigious journal Science on 1st May 2025.
 

The bloody and brutal terrorist attack of 7th October 2023 has set in motion a spiral of tragic events whose end is still not in sight. The relentless cruelty of the grave humanitarian crisis afflicting Gaza has left an indelible mark on the civilian population. A particularly unbearable burden weighs on the younger generations exposed to unparalleled traumas and deprivations, generations who represent our collective future.

Rooted in its founding principles – such as freedom of thought serving as a beacon of knowledge, interaction between cultures as an antidote to intolerance, and the role of research as a tool for progress and connection between communities – the University of Trieste wishes to express profound solidarity with all the innocent victims of this prolonged conflict.

The University of Trieste confirms its ongoing commitment to actively promoting peaceful conflict resolution for the sake of mutual respect and human dignity, and to offering support to victims through the expertise of the academic community.

Over 7,000 girls and boys from Friuli Venezia Giulia will face the summer with a greater awareness of the importance of sun protection: this is the outcome of the Occhio al Sole project, which took place during the 2024-2025 school year, involving 138 first-grade secondary schools across the entire regional territory.

The project, entitled “Occhio al Sole! Buone pratiche per stare bene all’aria aperta”, was created by FondoSviluppo FVG (the mutual fund of Confcooperative FVG) and promoted by the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, with the patronage of the University of Trieste and the University of Udine. The activities were carried out in schools with the support of the Immaginario Scientifico, aiming to promote, from an early age, conscious behaviors to protect skin health.
Through interactive workshops lasting two hours, students explored the topic of ultraviolet rays, analyzing their effects on the body and the risks associated with unprotected sun exposure. Particular attention was given to the role of climate change, which increases the intensity and danger of UV rays. The program included experimental activities and moments of discussion, focusing on the skin and the correct use of sun protection.
The initiative saw a high level of participation: around 80% of first-grade secondary schools in Friuli Venezia Giulia – distributed across the four provinces – chose to participate. This result reflects the interest and value of the initiative and led to the confirmation of the project for the 2025-2026 school year.

Prof. Iris Zalaudek, Director of the Dermatology Clinic at the University of Trieste and the Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliana Isontina, emphasized: “Educational campaigns like the ‘Occhio al Sole’ project are essential for promoting healthy behaviors from childhood, reducing the risk of skin damage such as premature aging or the increased risk of skin cancer in the long term. Several studies show that targeted school interventions significantly increase the use of sun protection and the habit of staying in the shade among children. In Australia, melanoma is one of the most common forms of cancer, particularly among young adults aged 15-25. However, in recent years, a decline in the incidence of melanoma in this age group has been observed for the first time, thanks to various public health initiatives, including the early education of young people on sun protection.”
Given the high level of participation and the success of the initiative, a second edition of the project has been confirmed for the 2025-2026 school year.

Ensuring public funding for providing home care to older adults with limited self-sufficiency could prove not only to be a welfare measure, but also an effective strategy for improving seniors’ mental health, reducing psychiatric care costs, and easing the burden on families.

This is the conclusion of an international study published in the prestigious journal Health Economics, led by Ludovico Carrino, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Trieste, in collaboration with Erica Reinhard of King’s College London and Mauricio Avendano of the University of Lausanne.

The study, among the first in the scientific community to empirically examine the socio-economic impact of public home care for older adults, analysed data from four European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain), and highlighted the many potential benefits of publicly supported Long-Term Care (LTC) programmes.

The findings show that access to home care services:

• reduces the risk of clinical depression by 13 percentage points, compared to an observed average of 28% in the study population;
• lowers the risk of loneliness by 6.7%;
• improves perceived quality of life by 14%.

Ludovico Carrino, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Trieste, commented: ‘In addition to the health benefits for individuals, the study highlights the potential economic impact of such measures. Late-life depression has high healthcare costs: studies conducted over the past decades show an annual extra cost of $3,225 per person aged 65–74 in the UK, while in Germany the figure is $2,840 annually for those over 75. Reducing the incidence of mental health disorders through an efficient home care system therefore means not only improving the quality of life for older people, but also decreasing the need for medication, psychiatric care and hospitalisation, with positive effects on the sustainability of national healthcare systems.’

Another key finding of the research relates to the role of informal caregivers. Care provided by family members, such as children or relatives, is often the main source of support, with a significant impact on the work and personal lives of those providing care. Widening access to home care services could relieve caregivers from what is often an all-consuming role, returning human resources to the labour market with potentially positive outcomes for productivity and household income. In Italy, where the development of public Long-Term Care lags behind that of other European countries, the findings of the Health Economics study may offer concrete guidance for shaping public policy and updating welfare strategies. 

‘Legislative initiatives in recent years have sparked reflection on the need to strengthen funding and broaden access to home care services, drawing attention to a highly relevant issue in a country where an ageing population will inevitably lead to a rise in the number of people requiring care,’ concluded Ludovico Carrino.

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Full study published in Health Economics
There Is No Place Like Home: The Impact of Public Home‐Based Care on the Mental Health and Well‐Being of Older People

The University of Trieste’s Botanical Garden on Via Licio Giorgieri, with an area of 2,400 square metres, houses around 400 species from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. These also include species endemic to the Karst, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Mediterranean, with a small section dedicated to pteridophytes. 

The Botanical Garden boasts a two-century-old downy oak (quercus pubescens), the only tree preserved during wartime deforestation. Beyond its perimeter, but still an integral part of the Botanical Garden, is the Monte Valerio Nature Trail, which features informative signs explaining the flora and fauna encountered by visitors.

A botanical garden, the hortus vivus of antiquity, is an institution that keeps living plants, documented, labelled, arranged and ordered according to scientific criteria. It is open to the public in order to educate visitors about the plant species and provide recreational activities, while also carrying out research and conservation projects.

Created in 1963 by Prof. Sandro Pignatti, the botanical garden of the Botany Institute at the University of Trieste was conceived as a collection mainly dedicated to Karst and regional flora, with several specimens native to the Western Balkan area. After its conception, budget cuts, lack of personnel and diverging research activities led the garden to significantly deteriorate, reducing it simply to a green space between the buildings of the UniTS Campus. Despite its state of neglect, the garden became a special area for research and teaching and a new greenhouse was constructed, the first in Europe to be equipped with interactive plant identification tools used by students on the Systematic Botany course. Since 2022, thanks to the impetus of Prof. Andrea Nardini, Professor of Plant Physiology, and Prof. Mauro Tretiach, at the time Head of the Department of Life Sciences, the garden has made a comeback after numerous exotic species were purchased and large areas for research activities were newly designated.

The two local institutions Giardino Botanico Carsiana (dedicated to the flora of the Karst) and Trieste’s Civico Orto Botanico, both with cultivars and exotic plants, inspired the small university garden to redefine its goals as not just an exhibition space but a place to strengthen its functionality as a teaching location: a garden serving as an extension of the classroom or laboratory, a space for observing the characteristics of plants and thus providing first-hand knowledge and in-depth information in university lessons.
The University Botanical Garden continues to be a recreational space for students but also a place for meetings and gatherings in keeping with plant conservation requirements.

Andrea Moro, curator of the Botanical Collections, and Marinella Perosa, author of the book “Botanica&Erbario” (Quaderni Visionari, Effigi editions) spoke at the inauguration.

The University of Padua's Equal Opportunities Committee (CUG) has awarded UniTS researcher Giovanna Gilleri the Prize for Research on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation for her work entitled ‘Women, and All of Us: Article 5(a) CEDAW as a Protection for All Gendered Individuals’.

CEDAW stands for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979.

The committee has awarded the prize to Giovanna Gilleri for her innovative interpretation of Article 5(a) of the CEDAW Convention, in which through detailed legal analysis and dialogue with feminist and queer thought she demonstrates how the fight against gender stereotypes, by extending protection to all gender identities, can promote an inclusive vision of anti-discrimination law.
 

Friday 23rd May saw the conclusion of the on-site visit of the expert panel (CEV) of the Italian national agency for the evaluation of universities and research institutes (ANVUR) for the Periodic Assessment of the University of Trieste.

The final meeting took place in the Main Hall of Building A and was attended by the entire academic community.

During the presentation, the key strengths and areas for improvement identified through the analysis of documents and consultations with staff and students were communicated. 

The Preliminary Report, in accordance with ANVUR assessment procedures, will be sent to the University within 90 days.

A persistent inflammation affecting blood vessels and potentially leading to serious thrombotic complications, even in young individuals with no known risk factors – this is the reality of systemic vasculitis, a group of rare autoimmune diseases which, if not promptly recognised and treated, can compromise vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, lungs and brain.

These conditions are the focus of a study published in Nature Reviews Rheumatology, one of the world’s most prestigious journals in the fields of immunology and rheumatology. The study is coordinated by Professor Giacomo Emmi, immunologist, lecturer in Internal Medicine at the University of Trieste, Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Scientific Coordinator of ASUGI (local health authority).

The article, the result of a coordinated review effort involving leading research centres in Italy, Sweden, Russia, Turkey and Australia, provides an overview of the thrombotic and cardiovascular manifestations associated with vasculitis. It also proposes new treatment strategies based on an anti-inflammatory approach.

The topic will be the subject of a presentation by Professor Emmi during the European Vasculitis Society (EUVAS) congress, being held for the first time in Trieste from 21st to 24th May, and bringing together over 400 specialists from across Europe. The congress is a key event for clinicians and researchers working in this area and is noted for its strongly multidisciplinary approach. Emmi is a member of the society’s board and part of the organising committee for the event.

"Our work," explains Emmi, "shows that in many forms of vasculitis, thrombosis is not an isolated event, but a direct consequence of vascular inflammation. In such cases, anticoagulants alone may be insufficient and must be combined with immunological therapy. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying these findings changes the therapeutic approach and may open new avenues for other chronic inflammatory and non-inflammatory diseases as well."

Among the types of vasculitis examined in the review are:

• Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis – a disease primarily affecting the respiratory tract, heart and peripheral nervous system;
• Behçet’s syndrome, which involves blood vessels of varying calibre and is characterised, among other things, by inflammatory thrombotic events.

The publication focuses on:

• the differences between arterial and venous thrombotic events;
• therapeutic management at different stages of the disease;
• and the various pathogenetic mechanisms that can inform clinical decision-making.

The study, available online via the Nature platform, represents a significant contribution to the international discourse on systemic autoimmune diseases, a constantly evolving field of medicine.

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Full Study Published in Nature Reviews Rheumatology         
Arterial and venous thrombosis in systemic and monogenic vasculitis
Federica Bello¹˒¹⁵, Filippo Fagni²˒³˒¹⁵, Giacomo Bagni⁴, Catherine L. Hill⁵˒⁶, Aladdin J. Mohammad⁷˒⁸, Sergey Moiseev⁹, Iacopo Olivotto¹˒¹⁰, Emire Seyahi¹¹ & Giacomo Emmi¹²˒¹³˒¹⁴

1. Cardiomyopathy Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
2. Department of Rheumatology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
3. Department of Clinical Sciences, Rheumatology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
4. Department of Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
5. Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
6. Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
7. Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
8. Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
9. Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
10. IRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Florence, Italy
11. Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
12. Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
13. Department of Internal Medicine, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano Isontina (ASUGI), Trieste, Italy
14. European Reference Network ReCONNET, Trieste, Italy
These authors contributed equally: Federica Bello, Filippo Fagni