The first issue of the year 2016 of the journal Rendiconti Lincei—Scienze Fisiche e Naturali (the 27th volume of the new series of this 173-year-old journal) registers some changes, but most of them under the sign of continuity. The co-authors of this editorial are the two former deputy editors-in-chief, but one of them (Aquilanti), starting with this issue, is assuming the 3-year responsibility of editor-in-chief, as the successor to Francesco Paolo Sassi—a challenging relay baton to receive in view of his outstanding efforts to shape the current success of the journal.

Professor Francesco Paolo Sassi acted as the editor-in-chief for the last 5 years, and his term expired in December 31, 2015. However, we are very pleased to announce that he, deserving all the merits for having taken care of the journal from volume 22 (Sassi 2011), has agreed to continue contributing to the journal with his competence and experience, assuming the role of editor-in-chief-emeritus. We thank him and all the section editors, who agreed to help us in the editorial handling of the journal. The section editors are all members of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. In their list, as seen in page 2 of the overleaf, there have been minor changes—we particularly look forward to receiving contributions from the newcomers.

Among the publications of Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (the main scientific institution in Italy and arguably the oldest in the world, since it was founded in 1603 in Rome), the specific role of this journal is to collect peer-reviewed scientific papers in the broad areas of physical and natural sciences. Original submissions from researchers in these areas are solicited, particular attention being devoted to series of papers dealing with a common theme, as emerging for example (but not exclusively) from groups of scientists gathered at conferences organized under the auspices of the Accademia.

As a continuation to the list in (Sassi 2011), here are the thematic issues that appeared since then, representative of current topics covered by the journal (the list contains references to introductory articles to be consulted for further information on contents): Astrochemistry: Molecules in space and in time (Aquilanti et al. 2011); Synchrotron radiation timed resolved concurrent experiments: a new Italian route to China (Mottana 2011; Innocenzi et al. 2011); Land-Sea interaction: the case of the Sele river, Southern Italy (D’Argenio et al. 2012); Perspectives in neuroaesthetics (Carafoli et al. 2012); Science literacy (Boriani et al. 2012); The centennial of X-ray diffraction (Mottana et al. 2013); Molecules at the mirror: chirality in chemistry and biophysics (Aquilanti et al. 2013); Cosmic rays and radiobiology in a Sino-Italian network strategy: first bilateral workshop COSMIC-RAD (Alleva et al. 2014; Xiao and Wang 2014; Woloschak 2014); Anthropocene: natural and man-made alterations of the Earth’s fragile equilibrium (Cita and Orombelli 2014); Brain science and human culture (Margreth et al. 2014); Intermontane basins: quaternary morphoevolution of Central-Southern Italy (Aucelli et al. 2014); Sustainable management of the Mediterranean (Boero et al. 2015); Geodesy and Geomatics: the cutting edge (Sansò and Crespi 2015); From Life to Life: through new materials and plasmonics (Strangi et al. 2015); Archaeometry and cultural heritage: contributions of geosciences (Maritan et al. 2015); Castelporziano—research and conservation in a mediterranean forest ecosystem (Pignatti et al. 2015; Chiancone 2015).

Rendiconti Lincei—Scienze Fisiche e Naturali aims at continuing the previous experience, maintaining its role as a mirror of the best science, both performed in Italy and carried out by Italians abroad. In addition, it dedicates similar attention to research performed by foreign scientists, in particular those who culturally and geographically are focused on themes specific to the Mediterranean countries, among which Italy’s burden is central.

Professor Sassi, during his tenure as editor-in-chief, widened the scope of Rendiconti encompassing such a specific task, which originates from the pivotal position of Italy between the Laurasia and African plates. We will continue with this intercontinental vision, to record in the journal the best outcome of a global approach to scientific research.