Italian
Tecnòpolis, the festival that explores the digital future, is about to transform Bologna into the capital of innovation. From March 19 to 21, the Tecnopolo DAMA (Data Manufacturing Emilia-Romagna) will open its doors to the public for the first time, offering an immersive experience in the world of supercomputing, Artificial Intelligence, and the new frontiers of technology.
BOLOGNA. The event, promoted by the Municipality and the Metropolitan City of Bologna together with the Emilia-Romagna Region and produced by Elastica, will feature the participation of over 30 international guests, including astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, science reporter David Quammen, neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, and musician Paolo Fresu. Under the scientific direction of Massimo Temporelli, physicist and science communicator, Tecnòpolis promises to be a fascinating journey through science, sustainability, space, and new languages of art and information.
The festival will kick off on Wednesday, March 18, with a tribute to the roots of technological vision, featuring a screening of Fritz Lang’s masterpiece, “Metropolis” (1927), at the Cinema Modernissimo. Massimo Temporelli will introduce the film, connecting the history of cinema to the challenges of contemporary technology. Tickets are available online or at the Cineteca box office, with a quota of complimentary tickets reserved for students of the Metropolitan City.
The heart of the festival will take place at the Tecnopolo DAMA starting Thursday, March 19, with the official opening at 6:00 PM and institutional greetings from Mayor Matteo Lepore and President of the Emilia-Romagna Region Michele De Pascale. There will be speeches from representatives of the Tecnopolo DAMA, including Martin Palkovic, Director of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Antonio Zoccoli, President of the ICSC Foundation and INFN, Mirko Cestari, Head of Technologies, Architectures, and HPC Systems at CINECA, and Rosa Grimaldi, Delegate for Attractiveness, Innovation, and Impact of the Tecnopolo for the Municipality and Metropolitan City of Bologna. The “techpill” by Paolo Tortora, Full Professor of Space Systems at the University of Bologna, will conclude the inaugural day.
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will kick off the schedule of meetings, engaging in a dialogue with journalist Silvia Bencivelli about the new frontiers of space exploration and the changes awaiting humanity beyond Earth’s orbit. The evening will continue with a guided immersion among the stars thanks to the inflatable planetarium brought inside DAMA by the National Institute of Astrophysics.
Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, will feature major lectures and spectacular conferences. David Quammen, author of “Spillover,” will give a talk on the moment when great ideas change the fate of humanity, while Stefano Mancuso will explain how the plant world can inspire models of decentralized and sustainable innovation. Adrian Fartade and Margherita Paiano will offer fresh perspectives on our animal side and the universe, alternating with debates on the space economy with Emilio Cozzi and Linda Raimondo.
