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Revision as of 09:41, 7 October 2025
Teaching and conference venue in Erice, Sicily
The Patrick M. S. Blackett Institute (Istituto Blackett–San Domenico) is a teaching and conference venue of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture (EMFCSC) in Erice, Sicily, housed in the former San Domenico convent. It includes a modern auditorium and a small museum, with an upper-level belvedere offering panoramic views over the town.
History
Founded as a Dominican convent and church after 1486, the complex expanded through the 16th and 17th centuries; following the 1866 suppression of religious orders it was secularised, and since the 1970s it has formed part of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture as the Blackett Institute.[1][2][3] The institute is named after the British experimental physicist Patrick Blackett.
Facilities
The complex includes the Aula Magna “P. A. M. Dirac” (auditorium named for Paul Dirac) and additional lecture rooms named for Robert Hofstadter and John von Neumann.[3] An upper-level belvedere (the Olof Palme Hall) is used for poster sessions and coffee breaks and offers panoramic views over Erice.[4][5]
Museums
The institute houses two small museums: the Paul A. M. Dirac Museum and the Daniel Chalonge Museum.[6]
The Dirac Museum is dedicated to the life and work of the Nobel laureate Paul Dirac and displays instruments and documents; Dirac was among the signatories of the 1982 Erice Statement promoted at the Centre.[7][8]
The Daniel Chalonge Museum preserves photographs and documents relating to the French astrophysicist Daniel Chalonge and his circle (e.g. Viktor Ambartsumian), reflecting the astrophysics school held at Erice.[9]
Use and events
The institute regularly hosts EMFCSC schools and public programmes, including conferences and public lectures in the auditorium.[10] The Centre’s annual programme spans a wide range of disciplines—from physics to nanomedicine, pharmacology and science education—and historically included the early International Workshops on Molecular Gastronomy held in Erice in the 1990s.[11][12]
