“I don't think the international community realizes how bad it's been for science in Italy,” says University of Florence astrophysicist Franco Pacini, former president of the International Astronomical Union. “In the last three or four years, there has been a systematic hostility to science. If you add to that the economic crisis, it's a general scenario which is very difficult.”
The demise of Silvio Berlusconi's government last year has sparked hopes that science will become a higher priority, although it's too early to be sure. One bright spot is the appointment of Giovanni (Nanni) Bignami to head the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The high-energy astrophysicist is the first scientist to head the agency. Indeed, says Pacini, who served on the search committee, it was a good sign that all three finalists for the job were scientists. In recent years, he adds, “there has been a poverty of scientific programming [at...
