Early in 1928, shortly after receiving my PhD at the University of Bologna, I was offered the position of assistant at the Physics Institute of the University of Florence. The Institute rose among olive trees, on the hill of Arcetri, a short distance from the villa where Galileo had spent the last years of his life as a political exile. The chair of physics was held by Professor Antonio Garbasso who, in earlier years, had done some creditable scientific work. But the first world war and subsequent events had diverted his interests toward politics. He was now a senator and the mayor of Florence. However, he still went to Arcetri three times a week to deliver his lectures, and he still had a strong desire to see the Institute, which he had built, become an important center of research.
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October 1981
October 01 1981
Early days in cosmic rays
Momories of four of physics in the Florentine hills at Arcetri a half century ago that did much to shape the future of cosmic ray research.
Physics Today 34 (10), 34–41 (1981);