the opening cerimony

"We are not wrong if we say that today we are dedicating to Galileo Galilei the best monument we could construct in the 3rd Century of his death".

This is the first sentence of the official talk of the Chacellor of the University of Padua, Carlo Anti during the opening cerimony for the Asiago Observatory, 1942 May 27. He had a very important role in the realization of the major European telescope, and for this reason he continued:

"I must confide that this Observatory is the work at which I gaze fondly and of which I am proud,   perhaps because it will serve a pure science".

Francesco Zagar, astronomer of Loiano Observatory, who was deeply involved in the realization of the telescope and, in particular, of the spectrograph, mentioned in his talk the successful meeting "of the two principal authors of this project ... the Chancellor of the University of Padua, Carlo Anti and our incomparable master Giovanni Silva who were able to realize an Institute that will leave an eduring scientific sign".

   
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During the opening cerimony, Giovanni Silva was appointed Director of the Observatory of Asiago.

The tragedy of the second world war is only marginally mentioned in the official talks. Carlo Anti remembers that the telescope is "a work of peace inside the rumble of a terrible war" and Giovanni Silva refers to "the difficulties of  such a period, in which the Italian industries were engaged for the preparation of  war materials".

The economic situation in Italy, which was already difficult during the realization of the Observatory, became ruinous in the following years because of the war and the autarchy. After the second world war there was a slow renewal of activities, even the scientific ones. The astronomical research at the Asiago Observatory started in 1947, when it was possible to reconstitute the Research National Commitee (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR). The Galileo telescope became indeed "a sign of progress and civilization", as it was in the wish of Francesco Zagar.

Official talks of the opening cerimony (in Italian):

A.Cunico
(Prefect of Asiago)
C.Anti
(Chacellor of the University of Padua)
G.Silva
(Director of the Observatory of Padua-Asiago)
F.Zagar
(Director of the Observatory of Bologna)
G.Cussini
(Officine Galileo)

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