Volta Congress

Not to be confused with 1927 Como Conference.

The Volta Congress (Italian: Convegno Volta)^[1] was the name given to each of the international conferences on various topics held in Rome, Italy by the Royal Academy of Italy and funded by the Alessandro Volta Foundation. They were established in 1930 by initiative of the Società Generale Italiana Edison di Elettricità.^[2] The fifth congress was influential in the development of aerodynamics.

These conferences took place after the Como Conference, also known as the Volta Conference, held at Lake Como in 1927 during the 100th anniversary of Alessandro Volta's death, which led to the public introduction of the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics by Niels Bohr.^[3] The Como Conference and the interwar period Volta Congresses were funded and attended by Benito Mussolini.

Interwar period congresses

During the interwar period, 8 congresses were organized by the Royal Academy of Italy, 4 under the direction of the physics branch, 2 by the history branch, 1 by the letter branch and 1 by the art branch.^[4] All travel expenses and food was covered by the organizers.^[4]

First Volta Congress on nuclear physics

The first Volta Congress was held in October 1931 on the topic of nuclear physics.^[5][6] It was organized by Orso Mario Corbino and Guglielmo Marconi along with Enrico Fermi as secretary. Mussolini presided the event.^[5] It included the participation of Marie Curie.^[5]

II Volta Congress on Europe

In 1932, the second Volta Congress focused on the topic of "Europe".^[7][6] It was presided by Senator Vittorio Scialoja with the intervention of Mussolini, Marconi, Governor of Rome Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi, and the President of the Senate Luigi Federzoni.^[8] It was notable for the participation of a number of mainly fascist theorizers and politicians.^[7] The goal of the meeting was to claim the "rebirth of European civilization could only happen following the Fascist formula."^[7] Mussolini used the conference to strengthen ties with Franz Seldte from the Der Stahlhelm and with Hermann Göring and Alfred Rosenberg from the Nazi Party.^[7]

III Volta Congress on immunology

In 1933 the third congress was on the topic of immunology.^[6][9] It was presided by professor of hygiene at the Royal University of Naples, Dante De Blasi [it].^[9]

VI Volta Congress on dramatic theater

A congress on "The Dramatic Theater" was held in 1934.^[6] It was presided by Luigi Pirandello along with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti as secretary.^[10]

Vth Volta Congress on aviation

The influence of Italian aeronautics was gaining momentum, led by General Gaetano Arturo Crocco, an aeronautical engineer who had become interested in ramjet engines in 1931, and influenced the selection of "High Velocities in Aviation" for the 1935 Volta Congress.^[6] Consisted of 38 participants, 28 Italians, and included founders of modern aerodynamics like Ludwig Prandtl, Theodore von Kármán and G. I. Taylor.^[2] This meeting is notable historically as it introduced a number of topics in compressibility and also included the first presentation on swept wings by Adolf Busemann.^[11]

VI Volta Congress on figurative art

The 1936 Volta Congress focused on figurative art. It was presided by Marcello Piacentini.^[12]

VIII Volta Congress on nutrition

The 1937 Volta Congress focused on current state of knowledge on nutrition. It was presided by Filippo Bottazzi.^[13]

VIII Volta Congress on Africa

The 1938 Volta Congress' topic was "Africa".^[14][15] It was presided by Francesco Orestano [it], with the involvement of Raffaele Pettazzoni and Luigi Federzoni.^[16][4] It consisted of 126 invited personalities, 62 Italians, 64 foreign.^[4] It was the only congress which was partially conducted in Italian Libya.^[17]

Cancelled IX Volta Congress on mathematics

The followup IX Volta Congress on contemporary mathematics and applications of 1939 was not held due to World War II.^[18][19] It was to be presided by Francesco Severi and Enrico Bompiani.^[20]

Later editions

The congresses continued in 1948:

• X Volta Congress on European history of 1848 (1948).^[21]
• XI Volta Congress on solar physics (September 1952).^[21][22][23]
• XII Volta Congress on the East and the West during the Middle Ages (May 1956).^[21]
• XIII Volta Congress on the East and the West during the Middle Ages: philosophy and science (April 1969).^[24]

References

1. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia - V Convegno Volta". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
2. Ferrari, C. (1996). "Recalling the Vth Volta Congress: High Speeds in Aviation". Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics. 28: 1–9. doi:10.1146/annurev.fl.28.010196.000245. ISSN 0066-4189.
3. "The Como congress 1927". CERN. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
4. Louwers, O. (1949). Le Congrès Volta de 1938 et ses travaux sur l'Afrique (PDF) (in French). Brussels: Institut Royal Colonial Belge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
5. "The Volta Conference at Rome". Nature. 128 (3238): 861–861. 1931. doi:10.1038/128861a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
6. "Research in Supersonic Flight and the Breaking of the Sound Barrier". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
7. Fioravanzo, Monica (2024-02-02). Fascist Europe: From Italian Supremacy to Subservience to the Reich (1932-1943). Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-80539-272-9.
8. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
9. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
10. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia -IV Convegno Volta". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
11. Eckert, Michael (2007-06-27). The Dawn of Fluid Dynamics: A Discipline Between Science and Technology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-3-527-61074-7.
12. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia - VI Convegno Volta". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
13. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia - VII Convegno Volta". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
14. Wagner, Florian (2022-02-24). Colonial Internationalism and the Governmentality of Empire, 1893–1982. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-08076-7.
15. "Accademia dei Lincei - cronologia - VIII Convegno Volta". www.lincei-celebrazioni.it. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
16. Wagner, Florian (2021-11-05). "The Myth of "Liberal" Fascism at the Transimperial Volta Congress on Africa in Rome, 1938". Transimperial History Blog. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
17. Louwers, O. (1949). Le Congrès Volta de 1938 et ses travaux sur l'Afrique (PDF) (in French). Brussels: Institut Royal Colonial Belge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
18. Cartier, Pierre (1993). "Des nombres premiers à la géométrie algébrique (une brève histoire de la fonction zêta)". Cahiers du séminaire d'histoire des mathématiques. 3: 51–77. ISSN 2513-6054.
19. Luciano, Erika (2023), Una questione di orgoglio nazionale: il Convegno Volta del 1939, ITA, ISBN 978-88-9357-601-7, retrieved 2025-01-28
20. Luciano, Erika (2023), Una questione di orgoglio nazionale: il Convegno Volta del 1939, ITA, ISBN 978-88-9357-601-7, retrieved 2025-01-28
21. De Azevedo, Paola Cagiano, ed. (2013). Inventario dell’Archivio (1944-1965) (PDF). Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. ISBN 978 887125 318 3.
22. Barocas, V.; Righini, G. (1953-04-01). "The Eleventh Volta Congress". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 65 (383): 70. doi:10.1086/126537. ISSN 1538-3873.
23. "1952MmSAI..23..339R Page 339". adsabs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
24. "1970IAUTA..14..481R Page 481". adsabs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-28.