XLVI National Congress of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy

Session

History of Astronomy and Physics

15 Sept 2026, 14:30

Piazzi Hall (Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte)

Conveners

History of Astronomy and Physics

• Elisabetta Rossi (Università di Bologna)

History of Astronomy and Physics

• Elisabetta Rossi (Università di Bologna)

History of Astronomy and Physics

• Martina Schiavon (Observatoire de Paris-PSL (LTE))

History of Astronomy and Physics

• Federico Di Giacomo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

History of Astronomy and Physics

• Federico Di Giacomo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

38. Copernicus in Padua: Portrait of Astronomer with Figures

Gandolfi, Giangiacomo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

15/09/2026, 14:30

The History of Physics and Astronomy

This paper examines the historical and biographical implications of the identification of Copernicus's portrait within The Marriage of the Virgin , a sixteenth-century fresco at the Scoletta del Carmine in Padua attributed to Giulio Campagnola.
By evaluating facial feature analysis—including a defining scar mask—this study reconstructs the intricate social network of contemporary humanists,...

22. The Debate on Cometary (Non-)Prognostication between Paolo Bravi and Livio Ignazio Conti (1664–1666)

Cosci, Matteo (University Ca' Foscari Venice)

15/09/2026, 14:55

The History of Physics and Astronomy

This paper aims to recover a neglected chapter in the long and complex history of the rejection of astrology as a legitimate form of knowledge. The appearance of the comets of 1664 and 1665 provided the occasion for significant epistemological debates concerning the validity of astrological prognostication, as exemplified by the largely overlooked controversy between the astrologer-physician...

4. Luca Pellicciari: from Natural Philosophy to Experimental Physics, the Experimental Physics Theatre at the University of Perugia

Sanchini, Giampaolo

15/09/2026, 15:20

The History of Physics and Astronomy

Luca Antonio Pellicciari, a priest and physicist, is an almost unknown figure in the history of Italian physics in the late eighteenth century. His significance lies in two aspects: he was the first professor of experimental physics at the University of Perugia and he was responsible for the establishment of the university’s theatre of experimental physics. This facility constituted the...

54. Geodesy and Earth sciences over a long 19th century

Schiavon, Martina (Observatoire de Paris-PSL (LTE))

15/09/2026, 16:15

The History of Physics and Astronomy

Before the First World War, geodesy was not the same mathematical and technical discipline we understand it to be today. It was instead conceived as a collection of knowledge and practical skills (acquired during exploration travels), which historians generally refer to as the ‘‘observatory sciences’’. Drawing on the meeting accounts of the Italian geodetic commission, the aim of this talk is...

31. Scientific Heritage and Digital Humanities: the Polo Documentario Storico Italiano della Sismologia e Meteorologia Project

Ferrari, Graziano (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia)

15/09/2026, 16:40

Museums and Scientific Collections

We presents the aims, methodology, and first outcomes of the Polo Documentario Storico Italiano della Sismologia e Meteorologia (PoloDoc), a digital humanities and history-of-science project promoted by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia in collaboration with Museo Galileo and other important archival and scientific institutions. The project is devoted to the preservation, digital...

49. An Astronomer in the Himalayas: Maps, Charts, and Scientific Instruments on the Roof of the World: a Project to Preserve and Promote Archival Collections

Brunetti, Francesca (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

15/09/2026, 17:05

History, Education, and Public Outreach

The Expedition to the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Chinese Turkestan led by Filippo De Filippi is considered the greatest scientific expedition of the early 20th century in the world’s highest mountains. Departing from Italy in 1913 and returning at the end of December 1914, it pursued numerous scientific objectives, from the study of gravity and magnetism in the highlands of Central Asia to...

33. The Former S-RPIF Archive at INAF/IAPS: Preserving the Historical and Cartographic Legacy of Early Planetary Exploration

Frigeri, Alessandro (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

16/09/2026, 11:15

The History of Physics and Astronomy

Planetary exploration began well before the global dissemination of the digital infrastructures that characterize today’s scientific landscape. During the 1960s and 1970s, mission data processing was confined to a few specialized institutions, making the distribution of scientific results dependent on the physical shipping of analog materials. To institutionalize access, NASA established in...

17. A carefully considered choice

Malagoli, Luca (Centro di Ricerca Enrico Fermi)

16/09/2026, 11:40

The History of Physics and Astronomy

The reason behind the use of paraffin (hydrogenated substances) to slow down neutrons in the famous experiment carried out in Via Panisperna on 22 October 1934 is recalled, including by several members of the Roman research group, as a sudden insight on Fermi’s part. An analysis of much of the extensive literature relating to the period 1930–34 on topics such as α and β decay, the discovery of...

29. The Twentieth-Century Modernisation of the Bologna Observatory

Rossi, Elisabetta (Università di Bologna)

16/09/2026, 12:05

The History of Physics and Astronomy

By the late nineteenth century, the Bologna Observatory, housed in the eighteenth-century Specola Tower, had entered a period of decline due to structural constraints and the increasing effects of urban light pollution. A decisive turning point came in 1936, when the Observatory was transferred to Loiano under the direction of Guido Horn d’Arturo (1879-1967), who equipped the new site with a...

6. Vincenzo Galilei and the empirical law on vibrating strings

Capecchi, Danilo (Sisfa)

17/09/2026, 14:40

The History of Physics and Astronomy

Not only was Vincenzo Galilei (1520–1591) the father of Galileo Galilei, he was also one of the leading figures of the late Renaissance musical revolution, which was characterised by an empirical approach. A vast body of literature exists on the role of experience and experimentation in Galilei’s work. Opinions range from Stillman Drake's (1974) high regard for Galilei as a pioneer and founder...

48. On Hamilton’s View and Use of Finite Differentials

Amabile, Alessandro (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)

17/09/2026, 15:05

The History of Physics and Astronomy

WIlliam Rowan Hamilton, Royal Astronomer of Ireland from 1827 to 1865, was one of the most prolific and brilliant mathematicians of the XIX century. Mostly known among physicists for his early works in optics and dynamics, starting from 1843 Hamilton devoted himself almost exclusively to the development of quaternions, new mathematical objects he invented in the attempt to extend complex...

9. Productive Errors and Serendipitous Events: How Anomalies, Dead Ends, and 'Failed' Experiments Drive Scientific Discovery in Physics and Astronomy

Costa, Matteo (Università Sapienza di Roma)

17/09/2026, 15:30

The History of Physics and Astronomy

This paper examines how anomalies, errors, and unexpected findings constitute constitutive - rather than merely incidental - moments in the history of physics and astronomy. Building on Barber and Fox's classic case of "floppy-eared rabbits", which illustrates how "lost" and "gained" serendipity shape discovery, I extend this analysis to landmark episodes in the history of the physical...

40. History of the Mathematical Techniques of Conservation Laws in Classical Theoretical Mechanics

Drago, Antonino (Dept. Physical Sciences, University Federico II Naples)

17/09/2026, 16:25

The History of Physics and Astronomy

The symmetry techniques of L. Carnot, Lagrange and Hamilton are revisited in the light of the two dichotomies of foundations of theoretical physics, i.e. theoretical organization and infinity. Their mutual relationships are highlighted and their differences from the Newtonian paradigm are emphasized.

51. Conceptual Pathways to Entropic Gravity: A Computational Semantic Approach

Gasco, Enrico (Zirak)

17/09/2026, 16:50

The History of Physics and Astronomy

This presentation investigates the semantic evolution of the concept of “entropic force” and its use across physics, biology, and soft-matter research. By analysing scientific articles downloaded from arXiv, we aim to reconstruct how this notion circulated between different research fields since the late twentieth century and how interdisciplinary exchanges contributed to its transformation...

45. SETIAI (SETI + AI) – Civiltà tecnologiche distribuite e l'equazione di Drake

Adamo, Angelo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

17/09/2026, 17:15

History, Education, and Public Outreach

Nel 1961 Frank Drake propose la celebre equazione destinata a divenire uno dei più noti strumenti concettuali della ricerca sull'intelligenza extraterrestre. Più che una teoria compiuta, essa rappresentava una provocazione scientifica; un utile schema per organizzare la discussione sui fattori necessari alla comparsa di civiltà tecnologiche comunicanti. A quasi settant'anni dalla sua...