Europe's largest planetarium is in Campania: partnership with Federico II University

Campania is preparing to welcome a scientific excellence of European level: the largest planetarium on the continent, it will be called San Pietro, it is financed by the Campania Region and will make use of a synergy between the municipal administration and the academic world. The collaboration agreement, signed between the University of Naples Federico II and the Municipality of Montecorvino Rovella, represents a fundamental step towards the creation of a cutting-edge scientific pole.

'The Federico II is committed to collaborating with the Municipality of Montecorvino Rovella for the use of an extraordinary new planetarium capable not only of entertaining people, of telling the story of the beauty of the cosmos,' said Rector Matteo Lorito, 'but above all it will be a structure dedicated to science and research in order to arrive at new discoveries.

A center of excellence for astronomical research. This impressive project, destined to become the largest planetarium in Europe, will offer unprecedented opportunities for students, researchers and doctoral students at the Federico II University. The facility, already partially built and awaiting the last tranche of funding for completion, will become a real laboratory where students will be able to carry out integrative teaching activities and training internships, doctoral students will collaborate in the design and implementation of specific lines of research, and researchers will have access to cutting-edge technologies for the study of the universe.

'It will be the largest planetarium in Europe. We want it to be able to become a Study Center and we chose the Federico II to offer students the opportunity to be able to learn and practice in a suitable and futuristic facility,' said Mayor Martino D'Onofrio, stressing the importance of academic collaboration.

'Excellence training and science popularization. The agreement provides for the development of joint programs in the areas of guidance, training, education, research and scientific popularization. Professor Giovanni Covone, professor of Astrophysics and Astronomy, winner of the Asimov Prize in 2024, contact person for the agreement for the University of Frederick highlighted, 'Our young people will have the opportunity to study in a state-of-the-art facility. It will be an opportunity for them to grow, but it will also be useful for Federico II faculty and astrophysicists.'

This collaboration represents a strategic investment for the future of Italian astronomical research, positioning Campania as a European reference center for the study of the cosmos and offering the academic community an unprecedented scientific tool in the continental panorama.

The territory of Montecorvino Rovella already has a tradition in this area, boasting since 1986 the presence of an astronomical observatory dedicated to the astronomer Gian Camillo Gloriosi, a native of the town in Salerno.