Investing in ICTP's Future

The Simons Foundation International has approved a grant that will enable ICTP to acquire the Adriatico building in the Bay of Grignano, just next to the ICTP headquarters in Trieste, and transform it into a modern international science complex.

The announcement was made this morning by ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar at the opening of the Centre's 60th-anniversary celebrations, in the presence of many dignitaries and a large group of international scientists, including physics Nobel laureate David Gross.

ICTP has been using the building to host visiting scientists and hold international workshops and schools for more than 40 years through a rental agreement with a private real estate fund. However, the rent has become an increasing burden on the Centre’s resources over the years. Built in the 1970s, the Adriatico building was used as a luxury hotel for a few years. ICTP started renting it in 1985 and turned it into a research and hospitality facility for the 5,000 scientists who each year take part in the prestigious conferences organised by the Centre. The building has a hundred guest rooms, a cafeteria, lecture rooms, laboratories and offices. For many years, the building also housed the science museum Immaginario Scientifico before it moved to Trieste’s Porto Vecchio.   

Thanks to the Simons Foundation International grant, ICTP will transform the now very old building into a modern science complex, thus contributing to the revitalization of the neighbouring area, which is currently already undergoing major renovations funded by the Municipality of Trieste and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region. Since the international statute of ICTP does not allow the institution to be the owner of buildings, the transaction of acquiring and making the building available in perpetuity to the Centre will be carried out by a third party entity, still to be identified. Preliminary discussions are currently underway with the Turin-based foundation Compagnia di San Paolo, which has expressed interest in taking up this role.  

“With more than 40% of lectures and seminars organised by ICTP taking place there, the iconic Adriatico building is an integral part of the ICTP experience for the some 4,000 scientists from more than 150 countries who every year take part in ICTP’s activities there. We are very grateful to the Simons Foundation International for their support, which will be essential to keep this environment alive and turn it into a modern, international scientific complex,” said ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar.

The Simons Foundation International grant includes a challenge to ICTP to encourage more donors to fund this initiative and thus contribute to the creation of an international scientific complex that would be unparalleled in the world.

The Simons Foundation International is a Bermuda-based philanthropy whose mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. To learn more, visit sfi.org.bm.