“I said goodbye to Franco last August, and yet his presence continues to live within me every single day.” These are the words of Luca Ferraris, President of the CIMA Research Foundation, remembering Professor Franco Siccardi one year after his passing.
“I was his student—first as an undergraduate, then as an assistant, a researcher, a lecturer, and later still as a founding member of his first creation, the CIMA Interuniversity Research Center, which has since evolved into the CIMA Research Foundation, and which I now have the honor to lead with humility and gratitude,” he continues. “From then until today, I have never stopped feeling like his student—just as, perhaps, everyone who had him as a professor, a supervisor, or a colleague does. Franco was a true mentor: in life, in research, in science, and above all, in vision. Thanks to his lucid yet visionary imagination, he was able to build risk scenarios and predictive models that proved essential for monitoring and forecasting extreme climate events.”
Today, on the first anniversary of his death, the Foundation commemorates him through the publication “Science & Art. Responsibility & Memory”, created in collaboration with Punto A Capo. The volume gathers the many contributions and testimonies shared during the memorial event held in the months following his passing. A mosaic of words, images, and symbols, it paints the portrait of a man who could unite disciplines, languages, and people within a shared vision.
“This album is another way of saying goodbye to Franco: through the images and faces of those who participated in our Memorial, through the testimonies and marks left on paper by each person, through the words, gestures, symbols, and thoughts that remain etched not only in videos and photos, but above all in our eyes and in our hearts.”
Bridging disciplines and communities
Franco Siccardi had the rare gift of crossing boundaries—geographical, cultural, and scientific—and transforming them into spaces for dialogue and collaboration. His vision wove together different languages, fostered dialogue between seemingly distant worlds, and created strong, lasting networks. This ability to unite, rather than divide, remains one of the most valuable legacies he left to the scientific and institutional community.
The September 2024 commemoration sought to make this legacy tangible. It was not just a moment of remembrance, but an interweaving of voices, images, music, and words—a choral tribute that told the story of who Franco was, from science to art. The publication “Science & Art. Responsibility & Memory” collects and preserves this heritage, conveying, on every page, the warmth of a crowded hall, the diversity of the contributions, and the depth of reflection. As one browses its pages, the echo of that day returns: people gathered, experiences shared, and a collective awareness that his teachings continue to resonate.
Science and memory: a living legacy (and a responsibility)
One year after his passing, Franco Siccardi’s legacy is found not only in the scientific models he helped develop, but above all in the spirit of inquiry and collaboration he instilled. It is a living heritage—built on knowledge, responsibility, and memory—that continues to guide the work of the CIMA Research Foundation and all those who had the privilege of knowing him.
