Abstract
The Scuola Normale had changed a lot since the first day Ennio had set foot there: “The main milestone was the appointment of Gilberto Bernardini—explained Luigi Radicati:—Before then, there was a very limited teaching staff. When I arrived, in 1962, I was the second science professor, the other one was De Giorgi. Even before, there were only one science and one humanities professors. With Bernardini the situation changed, and gradually the number of students and professors increased.”
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Notes
- 1.
L. Radicati, Barbaricina, 9 February 2007.
- 2.
After Bernardini, the Scuola Normale continued to expand under the direction of Vesentini and Radicati. The directors of the Scuola Normale have been Alessandro D’Ancona (1892–1900); Ulisse Dini (1900–1918); Luigi Bianchi (1918–1928); Giovanni Gentile (1928–1932, followed by Regio Commissario, 1932–1936); Giovanni D’Achiardi (1936–1937); Giovanni Gentile (1937–1943); Luigi Russo (1943); Leonida Tonelli (1943); Luigi Russo (1944–1948); Ettore Remotti (1948–1960); Giulio Giannelli (1960–1964); Gilberto Bernardini (1964–1977); Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli (1977–1978); Edoardo Vesentini (1978–1987); Luigi Radicati (1987–1991); Emilio Picasso (1991–1995); Franco Bassani (1995–1999); Salvatore Settis (1999–2010).
- 3.
The story is told by M. Breiner (2007) and G. Moruzzi (5 February 2009). L. Carbone adds (5 February 2009), “The problem of common barrel shapes and volumes has had a place in mathematics: for instance, there is a treatise by Johannes Kepler titled Nova stereometria doliorum vinariorum (1615).”
- 4.
E. Giusti, Florence, 2 February 2007.
- 5.
E. Giusti, Florence, 5 February 2007.
- 6.
The episode is told by T. Franzoni and confirmed by D. Longo, who witnessed it (Pisa, February 2007).
- 7.
Jacques-Louis Lions (1928–2001) was a French mathematician (see Chap. 19).
- 8.
Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan (1887–1920) was born in Erode in Tamil Nadu, India.
- 9.
J. Littlewood, Miscellany, 87. Cited by R. Kanigel, The man who knew infinity, Washington Square Press.
- 10.
E. De Giorgi, on the occasion of a meeting with John Nash in Trento (6 March 1996).
- 11.
See Chap. 20.
- 12.
F. Bassani, Pisa, 8 February 2007.
- 13.
G. Letta, Pisa, 6 February 2007.
- 14.
San Rossore is a pine forest nature park just west of Pisa, which belongs to the office of the Italian President, and only a small part is open to the public (translator’s note).
- 15.
The Accademia dei Lincei is one of the world’s most ancient institutions of knowledge. Its name (Lincei, or Lynxes) refers to the visual and thought acuity of those who dedicate themselves to the development of science. Its stated aim is to “promote, integrate, coordinate and disseminate scientific knowledge in its highest expressions, in the context of the unity and universality of culture.” From 1992, the Academy has been the scientific and cultural consultant of the President of the Republic. Ennio De Giorgi was nominated associate member of the Academy in 1978 (letter signed by A. Carrelli, 3 August 1978), and became a full member in 1986 (letter signed by F. Gabrieli, 31 July 1986). National Archives of the Accademia dei Lincei (10 October 2008).
- 16.
The news was reported in the newspaper Il Tempo, in an article by Mario Barsali, who wrote thus about De Giorgi: “He was a great teacher in the widest sense of the term, open to everyone, to any problem that was given to him: he received anyone in his office. He did not set appointments, but a long stream of people come to see him daily, even from abroad, to seek his opinion, clarifications, or to obtain precious information […].” The article also mentioned that De Giorgi was passionate about mushrooms, and that he was member of a national mycological association.
- 17.
R. De Giorgi Fiocco, Lecce, 2007.
- 18.
L. C. Piccinini, February 2007.
- 19.
G. Prodi remembers, however, that for a short time, De Giorgi had a small Fiat car. G. Prodi (Pisa, October 2006).
- 20.
G. Letta, Pisa, 6 February 2007.
- 21.
L. C. Piccinini, February 2007.
- 22.
R. De Giorgi Fiocco, Lecce, 2007.
- 23.
L. Radicati, Barbaricina, 2 September 2007.
- 24.
E. De Giorgi, Una lettera sul clima politico, sent to newspapers in May 1974. Published in [2].
- 25.
L. Carbone, 20 December 2007. Piero Villaggio confirms: “De Giorgi admired De Gaulle greatly.”—P. Villaggio, letter, 23 December 2008.
- 26.
The Collège De France is a research institute located within La Sorbonne university in Paris.
- 27.
L. Radicati, commemoration held at the Steering Council of the Scuola Normale Superiore, 8 November 1996.
- 28.
L. Radicati, Barbaricina, 9 February 2007.
- 29.
T. Franzoni, Pisa, 2 February 2007. The episode has been reconstructed based nearly entirely on his memory of it, which was later confirmed by what L. Radicati and S. Salerno remembered as well.
- 30.
Defined by Bernhard Riemann in 1859, the hypothesis states that all non-trivial zeros of the zeta function have real parts equals to ½. The Riemann Hypothesis was the eighth of Hilbert’s 23 problems, and is one of the seven millennium problems for which the Clay Institute in the USA has set aside one million dollars for anyone who can prove it.
- 31.
S. Salerno, 26 February 2008.
- 32.
S. Mortola, Milan, June 2007.
- 33.
L. C. Piccinini, February 2007.
- 34.
Personal memory of Turiddu, February 2007.
- 35.
E. Jannelli, 13 February 2009.
- 36.
M. Carriero, Lecce, 4 December 2006.
- 37.
G. Prodi, Pisa, October 2006.
- 38.
S. Spagnolo, Pisa, 6 February 2007. The episode is also recalled in vaguer terms by Don C. Masini (Pisa, February 2007).
- 39.
A. De Giorgi, email, 28 January 2009.
- 40.
“I think it was in November 1993”. A De Giorgi (email, 28 January 2009). Ennio didn’t even hesitate to leave offerings with his most trusted friends, for example, Giovanni Prodi (“You know who to give it to”—De Giorgi told Prodi—G. Prodi, October 2006).
- 41.
Around US$ 1500 at the time (translator’s note).
References
Bassani, F., Marino, A., Sbordone, C. (eds.): Ennio De Giorgi (Anche la scienza ha bisogno di sognare). Edizioni Plus, Pisa (2001)
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Parlangeli, A. (2019). Euler and the Barrel. In: A Pure Soul. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05303-1_15
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