A Voyage Into Italy of the Future

San Francisco, CA, July 05, 2013 --(PR.com)-- A traveling exhibition promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and created by the CNR (Italian National Research Council) in collaboration with IIT (Italian Institute of Technology), the INFN (Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics,) and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies ‘Italy of the Future’ is an exploration of Italy's most recent scientific discoveries. It includes 20 interactive exhibits that are selected and hosted by the Italian Cultural Institutes of Japan, the United States and Europe. It began touring in Tokyo on April 17, 2013 and is now poised to arrive to San Francisco, where will be on view from July 12 to August 23.

The event is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and created by the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the BioRobotics Institute of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced studies, with contributions from other institutions.

The exhibition aims to highlight an image of Italy as a country where science and technology are the cornerstones of development, by emphasizing Italian scientific advancements in all those areas of development traditionally defined as "Made in Italy," and particularly in the field of robotics, particle physics, medicine, transportation, archaeology, and preservation of cultural heritage.

The exhibit layout, developed on a concept by Manuela Arata, has been designed by the Collaboration Development Promotion Office (CNR-PSC). The section 'A new Made in Italy’ displays technologies developed by the CNR, including ‘no-wash fabric’ (ISTEC-CNR), electronic sensors for detecting carbon dioxide in wine bottles (CNR-IFN), and third-generation photo-voltaic devices(CNR Nano and IIT). INSEAN-CNR has contributed hulls for speedboats and warships used for hydrodynamic testing, which are exhibited in the ‘Transport’ section; while the ‘Medicine’ area includes, inter alia, state-of-the-art ‘Bone Aid’ bone implants(ISTEC-CNR) and limb rehabilitation systems developed by IIT, ArBot and WristBot. The Milan Polytechnic offers a highly original collection of titanium jewels and figurative art.

“This exhibition is a representative cross‐section of Italian scientific excellence," declares CNR President Luigi Nicolais, “It demonstrates, engagingly, and creatively how important, and useful research can be for growth and for raising any country’s standard of living. It invites us to support investment in every field of knowledge, even during a global crisis."

The ‘Robotics’ section is curated by the Italian Institute of Technology and the Sant’Anna

School of Advanced Studies. “Robotics is technology’s answer to real needs, to an aging population, to the need for ever more sustainable and intelligently planned systems," says Paolo Dario, director of the BioRobotics Institute of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, "our participation aims to display tools which can propel us towards progress."

In the ‘Archaeology and cultural heritage’ section, CNR presents the virtual reconstruction of the Regolini-Galassi Etruscan tomb (ITABC-CNR) and the portal to the Virtual Museum of Iraq (IBAM-CNR), as well as an interactive terminal dedicated to archaeological expeditions outside Italy carried out by the Italian Foreign Ministry. Finally,the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) has endowed the ‘Particle physics’ area with a virtual workstation allowing users to visit the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, as well as a number of the photographic film and lead ‘bricks’ used in the OPERA experiment for detecting tau neutrinos, and an interactive exhibit which reproduces particle collision.

The exhibition ‘Italy ofthe Future’ is part of the ‘Year of Italian Culture in the USA 2013’, it will be on view at the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco from the July 12 to August 23, followed by Los Angeles (13 September – 10 October) and, in its final stop for 2013, Budapest (26 November – 18 December), whithin the Italian-Hungarian Cultural Season 2013. Minor editions of the exhibition, with video contributions and totem touch screens, are planned for Sofia, Algiers, Toronto, Vancouver and Baghdad.

San Francisco's Presentation of Italy of the Future is a IICSF - Campania Felix, Llc. Collaboration

Brief overview:
What: “Italy ofthe Future” exhibition.
Where: Italian Cultural Institute, 814 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94133.
When: 12 July – 23 August 2013.
Exhibition website: www.italiadelfuturo.cnr.it