Passing in front of the Giosuè Carducci Institute in Viale Cavallotti—once the cradle of Pro Cultura Popolare founded by Enrico Musa and still today the venue for cultural courses and events—one cannot help but be fascinated by the elegant façade designed by architect Cesare Mazzocchi, on which stands the bust of the poet to whom it is dedicated, accompanied by the inscription “This house of spiritual light for the people was opened on September 20, MCMX.” . In the small garden in front, the statue of one of the fathers of the Italian nation, Felice Cavallotti, seems to point the way forward with his outstretched index finger. But few would imagine that there, in front of that building, a photograph was taken that is as epoch-making in the history of scientific conferences as the cover of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is in the history of pop-rock records. In both cases, we see a group of characters so extraordinary that it seems impossible that they could all have come together. And while a photomontage was used for the Fab Four’s album, the photo taken in front of Carducci in September 1927 is, on the other hand, sensationally authentic. During those days (from the 11th to the 17th), many of the world’s most important scientists gathered in Como in the name of Alessandro Volta, whose centenary of death was being celebrated. Eighteen of them had received, or would later receive, the Nobel Prize. Among the most famous are Guglielmo Marconi, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, and Enrico Fermi. Their names are listed on four medallions in the frescoed hall on the first floor, which has since been named the “Nobel Hall” and is home to the “Guido Casartelli Educational Museum,” established in 1917 by Musa himself to promote natural sciences in schools.
