Centro di Cultura Scientifica Ettore Majorana (Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture)

Origins and development
The origins of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture date to 1962, during the Cold War, a period characterised by geopolitical division and heightened concern over nuclear conflict. That year, an initiative known as the "International School of Physics" was established in Geneva, with a branch planned in Erice, reflecting efforts within the scientific community to promote international cooperation beyond traditional academic institutions.
The institution’s constitutive act was signed in Geneva on 8 May 1962 by leading physicists including John Stewart Bell, Patrick Blackett, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Victor Weisskopf, and Antonino Zichichi. These figures were prominent within the post-war European physics community, closely connected through institutions such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Erice was selected as the location for the Centre’s activities due to its suitability for residential scientific schools and extended seminars, with the first programmes held there in 1963 following the Geneva charter.
Following the establishment of the Centre, Antonino Zichichi, an experimental physicist from the University of Bologna who specialised in high-energy and subnuclear physics, served as president of the Centre until his death in 2026. Zichichi also held leadership positions in major international scientific organisations, contributing to the Centre’s emphasis on interdisciplinary education and international scientific exchange.
Fabrizio Zichichi became president of the foundation in 2026. He is an energy industry executive who has held senior roles at firms including Phibro, Castleton Commodities International, Morgan Stanley, and Noble Group, and has served on the boards of several corporate and…

In August 1982, the Centre hosted the drafting of the Erice Statement, a declaration on scientific responsibility in the nuclear age developed by physicists Paul Dirac, Pyotr Kapitsa, and Antonino Zichichi. The statement emphasised the ethical responsibilities of scientists in the development of powerful technologies and called for peaceful applications of science and greater international openness. It has been signed by over 90,000 scientists, as well as by political leaders including Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Deng Xiaoping. In 2023, an addendum was published reflecting on changes in the international landscape since 1982.
The Centre later expanded into public health and medicines safety. The “Erice Statement 2009” and the subsequent “Erice Call for Change” brought together pharmacologists, regulators, and healthcare experts from multiple countries, including participants linked to the World Health Organization’s global pharmacovigilance network. These initiatives aimed to improve the communication of medicine-related risks and incorporate patient experience into healthcare decision-making.
The Centre has also been associated with discussions on long-term cancer survivorship. In oncology literature, the term “Erice Statement” has been used to refer to a separate consensus declaration developed by experts in paediatric oncology, which addressed the definition of “cure” after childhood cancer and emphasised the need for structured long-term follow-up and quality-of-life–focused care for survivors.
In 1999, the Centre hosted a workshop that resulted in a statement calling on governments to support the development of an HIV vaccine. Prominent virologists such as Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier were among the signatories.
A 2026 meeting of the Italian Obesity…

The educational and scientific activities of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture are organised primarily through a system of international scientific schools and specialised courses, collectively known as the Centre’s International Schools.
These programmes operate as intensive residential sessions, typically bringing together researchers, lecturers, and students from multiple countries for extended periods of lectures, seminars, and collaborative discussion. Over time, the scope of the Centre’s activities has expanded beyond its original focus on physics to include a wide range of disciplines across the natural and human sciences, including mathematics, chemistry, biology, medicine, earth sciences, engineering, computer science, law, and interdisciplinary fields linking science with ethics and public policy.
Many of the Centre’s programmes have emphasised interdisciplinary approaches linking scientific research with practical and cultural applications. The International School of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy, established in 1992 and co-directed by physicist Nicholas Kurti and chemist Hervé This, which brought together scientists and professional chefs to study the physical and chemical processes underlying cooking. These Erice meetings are widely regarded as foundational in the development of the field later known as molecular gastronomy, influencing modern cuisine and science-informed culinary techniques adopted by chefs such as Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal.
Some of the Centre’s programmes are also associated with academic prizes recognising outstanding research. In mathematics, activities linked to the International School of Mathematics, named in honour of Guido Stampacchia, include the co-sponsorship of the Stampacchia Gold…

The Centre is housed within a group of restored medieval monasteries and convent complexes in the historic centre of Erice. Originally established in the former Monastery of the Poor Clares, the Centre expanded during the 1970s into several nearby religious buildings, which were adapted to accommodate lecture halls, research spaces, and residential facilities for visiting scholars.
The Centre is organised into a cluster of institutes, each named after a prominent scientist:

Isidor I. Rabi Institute (former Monastery of the Poor Clares, linked to the Church of San Pietro by an overpass arch) — Administrative hub with the Directorate, main Secretariat and the "Richard P. Feynman" Lecture Hall; also hosts the Centre’s Polo Sismico (Alberto Gabriele Seismic Network, established in 1981). The institute complex also includes the Piersanti Mattarella Tower of Thought, named after Piersanti Mattarella and recognised as an EPS Historic Site by the European Physical Society in 2016.
Eugene P. Wigner Institute (former San Francesco convent adjoining the Church of Spirito Santo) — Includes the "Enrico Fermi" Lecture Hall; the cloister is also used for concerts and exhibitions.
Patrick M. S. Blackett Institute (former San Domenico convent) — Houses the Aula Magna "P. A. M. Dirac" auditorium and several lecture rooms, including those named after "Robert Hofstadter" and "John von Neumann"; the complex also includes small museums and exhibition spaces.
Victor F. Weisskopf Institute (Il Ciclope) — Includes the "John S. Bell" and "Richard H. Dalitz" Lecture Halls and additional conference spaces.
All four institutes include on-site accommodation for visiting participants, enabling extended residential scientific schools and conferences to be held within the historic…