Malnisio science festival between past and future

The Malnisio Science Festival was held on 6-7 October  2017 at Malnisio. Located within the historical and fascinating context of the A. Pitter hydroelectric power station of Malnisio, several rooms were set up to host 27 conferences given be speakers from universities and research institutes.

“The time has come to find out what the future holds”. This was the motto of this festival and the common thread of all the subjects dealt with by the experts. The future seems to be at odds with this power station that has been running for more than a hundred years, but in reality it is the most successful symbol of innovation as it helped promote the region’s economic boom.

The staff of volunteers from the area welcomed us and guided us to the majestic machine room and on to the conference rooms prepared within the facility.

With the arrival of the evening, the power station took on a rather gloomy air, like something out of a horror film, with narrow corridors, rooms and porticos in which one could hear the water flowing beneath. Inside the main room, the machines are all intact and perfectly preserved and thanks to our guide, for a few seconds we could hear the deafening noise produced by the turbines in action.

This first edition of the festival ended cheerfully with music in the pavilion in front of the power station. The initiative excited me and I am grateful to the organisers for having given life to building, which is such an original, overwhelming and historical structure.