To commemorate 150 years since the birth of Guglielmo Marconi and 100 years since the inception of radio in Italy, the National Research Council (CNR) and RAI organized a celebratory event to illustrate the scholar’s insights and experiments, highlighting the relevance of his substantial scientific legacy.

The event, titled “Marconi on the Route of Science. The Great Journey of Research and Innovation,” took place today in Rome at the CNR headquarters, with numerous scholars and institutional representatives in attendance. Moderated by Umberto Broccoli, the event highlighted Marconi’s scientific contributions as an inventor, entrepreneur, Nobel Prize winner for Physics in 1909, and CNR president from 1927 to 1937. The President of the CNR, Maria Chiara Carrozza, emphasized Marconi’s clear vision of the role of scientific research in the development of Italy and on the world stage.

The event included the screening of the film “June 13, 1934. Marconi Experiments with the Future,” focusing on Marconi’s radar research conducted 90 years ago aboard the Elettra ship. Scientific and informative presentations explored Marconi’s significant scientific legacy. Silvia Caianiello from the CNR-ISPF contextualized Marconi’s life, while Valentina Raimondi from the CNR-IFAC and Francesco Soldovieri from the CNR-IREA delved into the use of radar in scientific explorations.

A highlight of the event was the quantum communication demonstration by Francesco Cataliotti and Alessandro Zavatta from the National Institute of Optics of the CNR (CNR-INO). Using Telsy’s proprietary web conferencing platform, TelsyAntares, they connected the CNR headquarters with the CNR Research Area in Rome “Tor Vergata” via Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). This technology, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, allows for the generation and distribution of cryptographic keys among users, ensuring security against cyber attacks. The demonstration, a collaboration between QTI (a spin-off of CNR-INO) and Telsy, showcased how this technology can be effectively used to establish intrinsically secure communication networks.

Roberto Ferrara from RAI presented the exhibition “Guglielmo Marconi. Transmission Tests,” inaugurated on April 25 at the RAI headquarters on Via Asiago 6 in Rome. The exhibition, open to the public until February 13, 2025, reconstructs the experimental cabin aboard the Elettra and displays items and materials from the RAI collection and the Historical Museum of Communication.

The keynote speech, “The Role of Mass Media in Scientific Diplomacy,” was delivered by Umberto Vattani, President of the Venice International University (VIU), followed by the screening of the film “Marconi’s Scientific Testament” by RAI. Guglielmo Marconi’s legacy is also commemorated in the CNR Press Office’s web magazine “Almanacco della Scienza CNR,” available online at almanacco.cnr.it, featuring contributions from CNR researchers on the innovations he pioneered.