Isidor I. Rabi Institute (Erice)
Istituto Rabi–San Rocco | |
The institute (left) and bridge to San Pietro | |
Interactive map of Isidor I. Rabi Institute | |
| Address | Via Guarnotta, 26, 91016 Erice (TP), Italy |
|---|---|
| Location | Erice, Sicily, Italy |
| Coordinates | 38°2′16.01″N 12°35′14.96″E / 38.0377806°N 12.5874889°E |
| Owner | Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture |
| Operator | Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture |
| Type | Teaching and administrative venue |
The Isidor I. Rabi Institute (Istituto Rabi–San Rocco) is an administrative and teaching complex of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture (EMFCSC) in Erice, Sicily, housed in the former monastery of the Poor Clares adjoining San Pietro. It contains the "Richard P. Feynman" lecture hall and accommodates the Foundation’s Directorate and Secretariat.[1][2]
History
The complex originated as the monastery of the Clarisse (the Poor Clares), facing San Pietro and linked to the church by a 16th-century overpass arch across Via Gian Filippo Guarnotti; the buildings retain their early character despite later alterations.[3] After the suppression of religious orders in 1866 the monastery passed to civic use and became an orphanage under the title Opera Pia San Rocco[a]; in the later twentieth century it was assigned to the EMFCSC and restored as the Isidor I. Rabi Institute.[4][1] The institute is named after the American physicist Isidor Rabi.
Facilities and use
The site hosts the Centre’s Polo Sismico — the Alberto Gabriele Seismic Network — founded in 1981 and described by the Foundation as "the first worldwide network of seismological detectors"; the Erice station receives signals from sites across Italy (22 inputs).[1][5]
As the Foundation’s administrative hub, the institute also contains the "Richard P. Feynman" lecture hall and the Directorate and main Secretariat, with on-site living quarters for course participants.[1][6][7][8]
Within the Isidor I. Rabi Institute complex, the historic Piersanti Mattarella Tower of Thought — a tower where visiting scientists have worked and reflected — was officially inaugurated as an EPS Historic Site by the European Physical Society in 2016 in recognition of its role in the scientific life of the Centre; it is named for Piersanti Mattarella, a regional political supporter of the institution.[9][10]
Notes
- ^ Opera pia: Italian term for a charitable foundation; the orphanage’s title (“San Rocco”) is the source of the modern shorthand “San Rocco monastery” used in Foundation materials for this complex.
References
- ^ a b c d "Location and Structures". Ettore Majorana Foundation & Centre for Scientific Culture. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- ^ "Ettore Majorana Center Info (Institutes and Lecture Halls)" (PDF). CERN Accelerator School. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- ^ "Monastero S. Pietro". Erice, la Montagna del Signore (in Italian). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- ^ "Chiesa giubilare – San Pietro in Erice". Diocesi di Trapani (in Italian). 17 June 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- ^ "Alberto Gabriele Seismic Network". Ettore Majorana Foundation & Centre for Scientific Culture. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- ^ "Erice information". CERN Indico. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
Register upon arrival at the Secretariat of the Center ("San Rocco", Via Guarnotta 26, Erice).
- ^ "Conference venue and accommodation". CERN Indico. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
There are living quarters in all the four Institutes for people attending the Courses of the Centre.
- ^ "Accommodation and Facilities". Centro Majorana. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
Speakers and participants are housed in the dormitory of the old monasteries (San Francesco, San Domenico, San Rocco).
- ^ "Piersanti Mattarella Tower of Thought, Erice, Italy". SIF Prima Pagina. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
The "Piersanti Mattarella Tower of Thought" was inaugurated as the 30th EPS Historic Site by the European Physical Society in Erice on 21 August 2016.
- ^ "EPS Historic Sites". European Physical Society. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
The "Piersanti Mattarella Tower of Thought" of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture, Erice (2016) is listed as an EPS Historic Site.