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 14th
European Stroke Conference Bologna, Italy 2005
Dear Colleagues
We have the
honour and pleasure to invite you to the European Stroke Conference 2005 and
would like to introduce you briefly to Italy and Bologna where the
conference will take place.Italy houses not less than 50% of art existing
throughout the world,and millions of tourists visit Italy every year.
However, not less than a couple of centuries ago, Italy was also the centre
of culture and science. The cultural formation of a young student was not
considered complete without the grand tour, i.e. a living experience in
Italy, and in particular in Naples, Rome, Venice and – for medicine –
Bologna. Yes, Bologna is not only the oldest of the universities (founded in
1088); Bologna also represents the oldest of the medical schools.
Appropriately, the well-known mask of the Theatre of the Arts, that
represents Bologna, is in fact a medical doctor, Doctor Balanzone, showing
how popular and deeply connected with daily urban life the medical
profession has been since the Middle Ages.
And it could be interesting to remind that the practical, i.e. monetary
aspects of the professional life of the medical doctors was redeemed by
Dante, who placed the well-known medical doctor Taddeo Alderotti, from
Bologna, directly in heaven, besides his attention for cash rewards. Now in
this 3rd millennium, culture and science are no longer confined
to a single country such as Italy, but they are spread throughout the world,
with Internet breaking down distances and boundaries, if not fully enough
comprehension, freedom and democracy. But it is important for culture and
for science to remember their roots, their background, and for the ESC to
return again to Italy, after the conference in Venice in 1999. To have
chosen Bologna for ESC 2005 indicates the appreciation that scientists
working on stroke have for the cultural, artistic and scientific melting pot
that Italy and Bologna still represent in a background of human
communications and studies and struggles that are even today the basis of
culture, science and art.
Gian Luigi Lenzi
Tommaso Saquegna
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