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Italy's Scientific Legacy
Familiar face: Leonardo da Vinci is probably Italyâs most prominent figure when it comes to science and invention
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span class="inline inline-center">Familiar face: Leonardo da Vinci is probably Italy's most prominent figure when it comes to science and invention. Courtesy of Italian Cultural Institute
Indonesians commonly associate Italy with these three things: soccer, fashion and coffee. When it comes to science, however, many Indonesians may not be aware of the tremendous scientific achievements that can be credited to Italy.
A recent workshop at the Italian cultural center in Jakarta, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, reminded visitors of the bond between Italy and the sciences.
Many Indonesians learn about scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Alessandro Volta and Enrico Fermi during their high school years, but many young Indonesians may not have realized at the time that these men were in fact Italians.
The workshop was hosted by two prominent Italian scientists ' Walter Bresciani and Enrico Biddau.
Bresciani was born in Brescia on Sept. 21, 1947. He holds a bachelor's degree in science materials and a master's degree in nuclear physics. He has published two books on artificial intelligence and also teaches applied mathematics at universities.
Bresciani's colleague in the workshop, Biddau, is a much younger scientist. Born in Cagliari in 1979, Biddau holds a Laurea degree in physics, a DEA in the physics of condensed matter and a PhD in theoretical physics. Like Bresciani, Biddau is a productive scientist who has produced several important papers on molecular nano manipulation and hydrocarbon catalysis.
Bresciani noted in the workshop that if people traced back the roots of today's scientific heritage, they would most likely discover that most of them were somehow connected to Italy.
'Around 70 percent of the world's scientific heritage today is Italian. Not 30 percent, not 50 percent, but 70 percent,' Bresciani said.
Bresciani said that Italy had at least 13 centuries of scientific history and it all began in the southern part of the country, what used to be called Magna Graecia, or Great Greece. Magna Graecia was the birthplace of some of the world's greatest minds like Archimedes, Pythagoras and Plato.
'These are the basic foundations of our culture, not just Italian culture,' he said.
According to Bresciani, the great legacy of Italy's greatest minds is evident from the fact that most of the intellectual, philosophical and scientific infrastructure built by their thoughts and innovations still stand tall today.
Some of them, such as the water-pipe system in Rome, still serve the public despite the fact that they were built thousands of years ago during the time of the Roman Empire.
Biddau noted that Italians had a certain kind of pride within them that always propelled them to question things and think logically. This mindset, he said, had been culturally embedded in the region by their ancestors for thousands of years. According to Biddau's argument, this was why the area known today as Italy had produced so many great scientists.
'When we start [to learn as toddlers], we are educated to think. We are also told about all the great minds that have come before us. In this sense, this system teaches us that we can always challenge what is going on and understand things better and more deeply,' Biddau said.
'When I was young, a lot of television programs showed documentaries. They tried to educate us every day. People tried to promote science to everyone,' he added.
'They [teachers and parents] always tried to make you think and always gave you all the information. This is what makes Italians so keen on science. This is the reason why most Italians are scientists. Our culture teaches us to think freely.'
'It has been going on for thousands of years. In Roman times, the more you thought, the more money you made. With the innovations you do, you make money,' he said.
However, Biddau stressed that money was never the main goal of scientists. He said that all scientists, regardless of their nationality, were driven by the passion to find out something new that could benefit society and make life better.
Today, Biddau said he realized that not many people associated Italy with science. In Indonesia, for example, science and technological superiority are often associated with Germany. Biddau said that such a fact did not necessarily mean that science in Italy had declined in terms of popularity.
Science in Italy, Biddau said, was still as strong as it ever had been.
The fact that science is rarely associated with Italy shows that it has gone beyond the borders of nationality and according to Biddau, this could be a good thing.
'The idea of referring to a country and referring to its people is different. Technological advances made in Germany do not necessarily mean that they were developed by Germans,' Biddau said.
'You need to understand that the process of research includes everyone. It is not restricted to a certain nation. The important thing is the scientific method.'
