The Venue

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About the Majorana Centre:

The Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture is named after an outstanding Italian physicist. Every year since 1963, authors of new discoveries and inventions come to Erice. Embracing 128 Schools, covering all branches of Science, the Centre is situated in the old pre-mediaeval city of Erice where four restored monasteries (one of which was the residence of the Viceroy of Sicily during the XIV and XV Centuries) provide an appropriate setting for high intellectual endeavour. These ancient buildings are now named after great scientists and strong supporters of the ‘Ettore Majorana’ Centre. The San Francesco Monastery (former Viceroy’s residence) is now the Eugene P. Wigner Institute with the ‘Enrico Fermi’ Lecture Hall. The San Domenico Monastery is now the Patrick M.S. Blackett Institute with the ‘Paul A.M. Dirac’ Lecture Hall, ‘Robert Hofstadter’ Lecture Hall and ‘John von Neumann’ Lecture Hall. The San Rocco Monastery is now the Isidor I. Rabi Institute with the ‘Richard P. Feynman’ Lecture Hall, the Directorate and the main Secretariat of the Centre. The ‘Ciclope’ is now the Victor F. Weisskopf Institute with the ‘John S. Bell’ and ‘Richard H. Dalitz’ Lecture Halls. There are living quarters in all four Institutes for people attending the Courses at the Centre. The Polo Sismico, the first worldwide Network of Seismological Detectors (1981), is located in the I.I. Rabi Institute. The ‘Paul A.M. Dirac’ Museum is situated at the Patrick M.S. Blackett Institute.

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About the town of Erice: 

The town of Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, at around 750 metres (2,460 ft) above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani and the Aegadian Islands on Sicily’s north-western coast. A cable car joins the upper and lower parts of the town. Erice is a wonderfully preserved walled Mediaeval town offering the most breathtaking views and a palpable sense of history.