Focus Live

Focus Live, Focus magazine’s festival of knowledge, set a new record this year, attracting over 20,000 visitors across the three days of the event. This was the eighth consecutive edition, held in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

Demonstrating the success of the formula and the brand’s strength in the digital and social space, over 10 million users were reached – a significant increase compared to the 2024 edition – through posts, stories, and videos shared across the web, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. All content will remain available and will continue to be enriched with new material for both young and adult enthusiasts.

From Friday 7 to Sunday 9 November, Focus Live – Passione  featured 120 guest, including astronauts, scientists, Olympic champions, researchers, and science communicators, as well as comedians, singers, and chefs, who animated the Main Stage, Speakers’ Corner, Creators’ Corner, and the Kids Area curated by Focus Junior.

“Focus Live is proof that a passion for knowledge brings people together and breaks down all boundaries,” said Gian Mattia Bazzoli, Director of Focus. “It’s not just a festival; it’s a celebration of curiosity and a demonstration that science, when shared with passion, becomes a powerful driver of community. The real magic of this event is its ability to transform science communication, often experienced through a page or screen, into a tangible, shared, and often highly entertaining experience.”

All 100+ events sold out, making the eighth edition of the festival truly special. Talks, workshops, and shows across various scientific disciplines – linked by this year’s theme of passion – prompted participants to reflect on the fundamental role of science in shaping our future.

Contributing to the outstanding success of Focus Live were the leading figures from the worlds of science and beyond, who allowed attendees to experience the future firsthand, engage with the present of research, and rediscover the passion that drives science. Highlights included: ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who opened the festival sharing her space passions and daily challenges; CERN physicist Guido Tonelli, discussing the concept of the void; journalist Beatrice Mautino; science communicator Massimo Temporelli; Luciano Pinotti and Enzo Spisni; Pierdomenico Perata from the Sant’Anna School of Pisa; scientist-criminologist Gian Maria Campedelli; Olympic gold medallist Mara Navarria in the team épée at Paris 2024; astrophysicist Amedeo Balbi; communicator Federico Taddia; neurosurgeon Christian Brogna; journalist and writer Matteo Bordone, who engaged in a playful challenge with ethologist Monica Battini; Elio e le Storie Tese; biotechnologist Marco Martinelli; and master chocolatier Ernst Knam. The lineup also included representatives from the Milano-Cortina 2026 Foundation and the Minister of Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.

At Focus Live, science is not just watched or listened to: it’s experienced and done firsthand. The true heart of the Festival lies in the installations and workshops of the Experience Area, a multiverse of discovery where every corner promises a new adventure. This year too, Focus Live gave countless visitors the chance to travel into the past or dive into the future through virtual reality, escape rooms, and much more, experiencing firsthand how science and technology are shaping the world around us. The experiences in the Experience Area were made possible thanks to installations curated by exceptional partners such as ENI, Humanitas University, Scuola Sant’Anna, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Fondazione AIRC, Università Cattolica di Milano, and Politecnico di Torino.

For children and teenagers, the Kids Area curated by Focus Junior offered an even richer program: from workshops organized by Mondadori Education and Jordan Oral Care to drawing workshops, STEM activities, VR experiences from the Frasassi Caves, and a new “offline” play area to test skills with Kapla building blocks, chess, and origami, rediscovering the joy of analog play.

“We shared three wonderful days with the children at Focus Live, witnessing their natural curiosity and eagerness to experiment,” said Sarah Pozzoli, Director of Focus Junior. “The Focus Junior Kids Area team carefully selected the STEAM activities to offer. We are delighted to see that when the program is of high quality, the audience responds with great enthusiasm.”

On Friday and Saturday evenings, two thrilling shows entertained the audience: La scienza vista dal Basso, a quiz hosted by the irresistible Federico Basso that turned curious questions and scientific knowledge into a hilarious game blending education and laughter; and Murder at the Museum, where Massimo Polidoro guided the audience through the scene of a crime that took place among the halls of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum.” A captivating crime night showing how science, psychology, and the scientific method help investigators solve even the most complex cases. Two evenings, two different ways to experience science communication. Engaging, entertaining, and full of wonder.

The festival will close on Sunday at 6:30 pm with Luca Perri and Giacomo Moro Mauretto in La passione è un motore o un freno a mano?

Partners and sponsors

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event, organised in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci and numerous partners.

MAIN PARTNERS: Eni, Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security
PARTNERS: Bayer, Grotte di Frasassi, Humanitas University, Jordan Oral Care, Subito, Toyota Motor Italia
CONTENT PARTNER: AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, Mondadori Education
OFFICIAL RADIO: R101
In collaboration with the Cultural Olympiad of Milan Cortina 2026
KIDS’ AREA powered by Focus Junior
With the patronage of the City of Milan

The advertising for Focus Live is managed by Piemme S.p.A., the exclusive sales agency for Focus and other Mondadori Media brands.

This edition of Focus Live is made possible through the collaboration and support of numerous institutions, research centres, and universities, including: ADMaiora, ASI, Business&Roads, European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), ESA, FBK, Human Technopole, IIT, INAF, Istituto Superiore Sant’Anna, JRC – Joint Research Centre, Kosmos, PLANit – Associazione dei Planetari Italiani, Politecnico di Torino, Smonting, Think About Science, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università degli Studi di Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, and Università degli Studi di Trieste.

The communication campaign and creative design of the event have been developed by Zampe Diverse, with production and organisational management by Left & Right.

Space passions, revolutionary gene therapies, artificial intelligence, gravitational waves, black holes and 3D-printed organs you can actually touch. But also the chemistry of chocolate, the atlas of emotions, the 90th anniversary of Schrödinger’s cat and prehistoric reptiles brought back to life. Focus Live 2025, taking place from 7 to 9 November at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan (via Olona 4), will be an extraordinary journey across the many disciplines of science, where passion – this year’s theme – will be the common thread linking science, history, sport, art and music.
Over the course of three days, the festival organised by Focus magazine, under the patronage of the City of Milan, will offer visitors a chance to touch the future, experience the present of research and rediscover the passion that drives science. More than 120 guests, including astronauts, scientists, Olympic champions, artists and communicators, will meet the public in talks, workshops and live events.

Focus Live was created for those who aren’t satisfied with easy answers, for those who see the world with the eyes of an eternal explorer,” says Gian Mattia Bazzoli, Editor-in-Chief of Focus. “It’s a place where curiosity meets the experts shaping our tomorrow and where every question – even the most challenging – has its place. Here, a neurosurgeon can speak with a student, an astronaut answers children’s questions, and anyone can take part in experiments that usually happen only in labs. It’s our way of showing that science isn’t distant: we make it tangible, open to questions, even open to challenge. For three days, we transform the museum into a living laboratory for hands-on discovery and dialogue. For us at Focus, it’s the most genuine moment of the year – when we step out of pages and screens to connect directly with our readers and share our hunger for knowledge.”

The goal of this Festival of Knowledge by the Mondadori Group magazine is to explore the crucial role of science in shaping our future, presenting the achievements of human knowledge in an accessible and engaging way. It does so through authoritative voices, innovative formats and a mix of styles and disciplines – blending arts, music, nature, theatre and biology, sport and technology – revealing unexpected connections between them.

Focus Live – Passione, open to the public and completely free (with registration), will feature a rich programme of talks, workshops and performances hosted in the Cavallerizze area of the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Italy’s largest science and technology museum, which for over 70 years has served as a bridge between the past and future of scientific culture.

To open this extraordinary edition, at 9:30 a.m. on Friday 7 November, Gian Mattia Bazzoli, Editor-in-Chief of Focus, will be joined by Fiorenzo Marco Galli, Director General of the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, and Carlo Mandelli, Chief Executive Officer of Mondadori Media.

The official opening will be led by Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA astronaut, who will share her “space passions”, the challenges of life in orbit, and how space research contributes to progress on Earth, helping us understand our planet and paving the way towards a more conscious and sustainable future. The festival will close on Sunday afternoon with astrophysicist Luca Perri, following a day featuring CERN physicist Guido Tonelli on the science of the void, journalist Beatrice Mautino on fighting misinformation, and science communicator Massimo Temporelli with his notebook of formulas explaining the Universe.

Between these moments, an extraordinary line-up will animate the Main Stage, Speakers’ Corner, Creators’ Corner, and the Kids Area curated by Focus Junior, offering activities and discussions designed to inspire curiosity and reflection.

The topics will be wide-ranging. Medicine will explore the promise of gene therapy with Luigi Naldini, Director of the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, who will explain how cutting-edge tools are used to fight rare diseases and cancers. The future of food will be explored by Luciano Pinotti and Enzo Spisni as they discuss novel foods and the challenges on our plates. Pierdomenico Perata, from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, will talk about the RNA revolution, while Patrick Gerlich from Bayer Crop Science Italia will present innovations in agriculture. On the tech front, Gian Maria Campedelli, scientist and criminologist, will show how AI can be used to fight organised crime, Tommaso Andreussi will explain how satellites might one day “breathe” Earth’s atmosphere, and researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology will introduce visitors to a real cyborg.

Olympic fencing champion Mara Navarria, gold medallist in Paris 2024, will talk with journalist Giorgio Terruzzi about what it takes to deliver a winning strike. Astrophysicist Amedeo Balbi will explore our cultural obsession with the apocalypse, while communicator Federico Taddia will “enter Einstein’s mind” with the help of a live illustrator. Neurosurgeon Christian Brogna will describe the marvels of awake brain surgery, joined on stage by one of his patients, who played the saxophone during the operation. Journalist Matteo Bordone and ethologist Monica Battini will challenge myths about cats, while Elio e le Storie Tese will deliver a humorous yet serious lesson on musical passion. Biotechnologist Marco Martinelli and the Subito team will engage the audience in a quiz about second-hand treasures.

Special moments will punctuate the festival: on Friday, representatives of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 will showcase the most iconic Olympic and Paralympic symbols, including torches, medals and mascots Tina and Milo. On Saturday afternoon, physicist Marcello Fanti will explore the Star Wars universe from a scientific perspective, joined by official Star Wars cosplayers from the Disney Lucasfilm-recognised 501st Italica Garrison (the “villains”), Rebel Legion Italian Base (the “heroes”) and the pink droid R2-KT. That same day, a group of Templar reenactors will demonstrate daily life and rituals from the medieval order. Finally, on Sunday, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, will discuss energy transition. There will also be AI masterclasses, showing how to use artificial intelligence in everyday life, and the sweetest event of all: maître chocolatier Ernst Knam will take to the Main Stage to make chocolate live, revealing its fascinating chemistry and physics.

Experience Area

At Focus Live, science is not just something to watch or listen to — it is something to touch and do. The true heart of the Festival lies in the installations and workshops of the Experience Area, a multiverse of discovery where every corner promises a new adventure. The journey begins at the very dawn of time aboard the Big Bang Machine, a mobile installation (an enormous lorry) that takes visitors on a virtual odyssey back to the origins of the universe. Inside this space-time capsule, stars fuse, matter takes shape, and visitors learn how listening to cosmic signals is deeply connected to understanding our own planet. The exploration continues under the dome of an inflatable planetarium, where immersive films and live lectures unveil the secrets of the night sky. From there, a virtual leap transports visitors among the telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory to chase the flashes of light emitted by black holes. Moving from the vast to the minute, the adventure shifts to the building blocks of life: visitors can extract DNA in a hands-on lab or imagine the future of medicine at the Humanitas University stand. The journey then heads south to Antarctica, where visitors can step inside a real polar field tent used by researchers from the University of Milano-Bicocca to drill ice cores — a rare chance to see the tools of extreme-environment research up close. Nearby, the micro-robots of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies await, along with Supercalcolo, super passione, an interactive installation designed and produced by Amigdala.ch in collaboration with Eni.It explores the hidden world of supercomputing — the silent power driving science, industry, and everyday life. Here, every visitor can create a unique text and voice narrative in real time, co-authored with artificial intelligence. To discover how everyday habits affect our health, the AIRC Foundation will present its Prevention Labs, where playful games and quizzes reveal the risks of alcohol consumption, debunk myths, and show how smoking harms not only smokers and those around them but also the environment. The robot artist of the Università Cattolica will weave kilometres of thread to create striking portraits and images, while in the Outdoor Area (Open Air Lab) visitors can test themselves on an artificial climbing wall (powered by Grotte di Frasassi), an exciting challenge with both physical and mental benefits.

Immersion in the world of science and technology will also be ensured for Focus Live visitors thanks to the Museum’s rich resources. Each day, festival participants can book guided tours of the Leonardo Galleries and the Space Area, step into the shoes of a real astronaut at Base Marte, or try The Touch, the innovative sensory escape game that blends reality and virtuality in a Mars-themed adventure. The brand-new i.lab Sostenibilità will also be open, inviting visitors — through games, experiments and immersive installations — to explore what makes a product or an action truly sustainable, taking into account every element within its wider, interconnected system.

These are just some of the many experiences awaiting visitors at Focus Live, thanks to installations created by outstanding partners including Humanitas University, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, the Italian Institute of Technology, the AIRC Foundation, the Catholic University of Milan, and the Polytechnic University of Turin.

Kids’ area

For children and young people aged 2 to 13, the Kids Area — curated as always by Focus Junior — will be even richer this year, filled with STEM workshops, a dedicated stage for talks, and activities designed to help kids discover the wonders of science in a creative and surprising way.

From the science and math labs run by Mondadori Education to drawing workshops with Carioca products and Pokémon, every experience will be an adventure to live firsthand. In collaboration with the Kosmos Museum of Pavia, kids can take a dive into the past with the Oceani Perduti station and, guided by palaeontologists, handle original fossils and casts of ammonites, trilobites, and ancient marine reptiles, uncovering the stories hidden in the rocks. Grotte di Frasassi will amaze visitors with a VR Experience, while Jordan Oral Care will teach young explorers about the dentition of animals and the evolution of human teeth from prehistory to today. In the new “no Wi-Fi” play area, kids can take on challenges with Kapla wooden constructions, rediscovering the joy of analog play.

For the youngest visitors, children up to age 7, Focus Pico will offer workshops to draw, colour, and have fun. There will also be plenty of shows: on Friday, November 7, the day kicks off with a super quiz on sustainability and environmental awareness by Grotte di Frasassi. At 11:00 am, Fondazione AIRC will present its new science show Ricerca(ta) speciale, a journey through experiments, quizzes, and theatrical scenes. Saturday, November 8 at 12:00 pm, the acrobatic family Mr David & the Family will astonish audiences with their performances. On Sunday, November 9 at 4:00 pm, Geronimo and Tea Stilton will meet fans for a show about inventions. Throughout the weekend, artist Raffaele Salvoldi will guide children and adults in building fascinating Kapla structures, transforming imagination into real wooden architecture. Among the special guests, on Saturday at 3:00 pm, science communicator Gianumberto Accinelli will give a talk on the animal world. It’s a perfect chance to experience science as play, learn while having fun, and discover that knowledge can be the most thrilling adventure of all.

The Creators

As in the past three editions, Focus Live 2025 will host the Creators’ Corner, a stage where digital communicators bring science and culture to life on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

This year, audiences will discover that the elements of the periodic table hide stories far more curious, and amusing, than one might think. Is it true, for instance, that drinking gold keeps you young forever? To answer that, there’s Eva Munter (@chimica_in_pillole). For those who’ve always dreaded math class, Professor Rocco Dedda (@unquartodoraconilprof) will share anecdotes that might just spark a passion for numbers. Giulia Ciccarelli (@medicina_in_cucina) and Giulia Biondi (@bilanciamo) will explain how to build a balanced menu, showing that eating is not just a necessity but a mix of culture, health, and well-being. Sara Figura (@laboratologia) will reveal the curiosities behind scientific research, while Silvia Casabianca (@madamstories) tackles a thought-provoking question: who really writes history? And that’s not all. Visitors will also meet the new faces of science communication, the top three finalists of FameLab Italia, the country’s first science communication talent competition, recently held in Perugia.

Special events

To enrich the schedule, as per tradition, on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 November at 8:30 pm, there will be two evening shows, free like all Focus Live events, combining entertainment, mystery, and, of course, science. Kicking off the 2025 special events, La scienza vista dal Basso will feature the hilarious Federico Basso hosting a live quiz that turns scientific curiosity and knowledge into an engaging game full of laughs and learning. On Saturday, the atmosphere turns thrilling with Delitto al museo, where Massimo Polidoro leads the audience through a crime scene set within the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. A captivating crime night showing how science, psychology, and the scientific method help investigators solve even the most complex cases. Two evenings, two different ways to experience science communication. Engaging, entertaining, and full of wonder.

The festival will close on Sunday at 6:30 pm with Luca Perri and Giacomo Moro Mauretto in La passione è un motore o un freno a mano?

Bookings

Event bookings can be made at www.focuslive.it There are two timeslots available: morning (10 am–2 pm) and afternoon (2 pm–8 pm). Those who wish to stay for the whole day can, of course, book tickets for both sessions.

Partners and sponsors

This edition of Focus Live is made possible through the collaboration and support of numerous institutions, research centres, and universities, including: ADMaiora, ASI, Business&Roads, European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), ESA, FBK, Human Technopole, IIT, INAF, Istituto Superiore Sant’Anna, JRC – Joint Research Centre, Kosmos, PLANit – Associazione dei Planetari Italiani, Politecnico di Torino, Smonting, Think About Science, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università degli Studi di Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, and Università degli Studi di Trieste.

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event, organised in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci and numerous partners.

MAIN PARTNERS: Eni, Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security
PARTNERS: Bayer, Grotte di Frasassi, Humanitas University, Jordan Oral Care, Subito, Toyota Motor Italia
CONTENT PARTNER: AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, Mondadori Education
OFFICIAL RADIO: R101
In collaboration with the Cultural Olympiad of Milan Cortina 2026
AREA KIDS powered by Focus Junior
With the patronage of the City of Milan

The advertising for Focus Live is managed by Piemme S.p.A., the exclusive sales agency for Focus and other Mondadori Media brands.

The communication campaign and creative design of the event have been developed by Zampe Diverse, with production and organisational management by Left & Right.

The full Focus Live 2025 programme: Schedule: Focus Live 2025

A journey into the heart of research, from space exploration to genetics, from the Big Bang to music. A place to meet astronauts, scientists, athletes, artists and science communicators, to experience science first-hand in every dimension, to explore discoveries and innovations, to learn through curiosity and fun, and to offer everyone the chance to understand and explore our universe in an interactive, engaging way. All this and more is Passion, the theme chosen for the new edition of Focus Live 2025, taking place at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan from 7^th to 9^th November, with three days of talks, workshops and immersive experiences.

The Festival of Knowledge, created and organised by Focus –  Italy’s most widely read magazine among enthusiasts of technology, science, sustainability and innovation, directed by Gian Mattia Bazzoli  – reaches its eighth edition this  year, confirming the success of a format that in 2024 attracted and engaged more than 18.000 visitors.

“As every year, Focus Live returns in November. In this new edition, everything is connected by a single thread: passion. This theme truly represents us: it drives the Focus editorial team, and we know it belongs to our readers too, who have always been passionate about science and discovery. But it’s also what we’ve seen in the countless scientists, astronauts, communicators, athletes and explorers who’ve joined us over the years. We’ve seen them up close, met them, and watched them in action. Beyond their undeniable expertise – and sometimes genius – there’s always something they share: an inexhaustible energy. We’ve realised that this passion is what drives a researcher not to give up and an explorer to look beyond the horizon. And it’s exactly this energy we’ll be celebrating from 7^th to 9^th November at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan,” said Gian Mattia Bazzoli, Editor-in-Chief of Focus.

Open to the public and completely free of charge (booking required), Focus Live has, for eight years, invited people to reflect on the crucial role of science in shaping our future, and to explore the achievements of human knowledge in an accessible, engaging way: from physics to medicine, biology to genetics, environmental protection to technology and digital communication. Throughout the festival, visitors will be guided on an experiential and exploratory journey to discover how, even in science – where method and rationality reign supreme – passion, together with curiosity, is the essential force that drives researchers to persevere and redefine our future.

Focus Live 2025 will open on Friday 7^th November at 10 a.m. with a very special guest: ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who will share her “space passions”, between personal experiences and reflections on the future of space exploration and research.

The programme will feature over 100 events, with innovative formats, a mix of genres and disciplines – music and nature, theatre and biology, sport and technology, cooking – and a wide range of authoritative voices animating the Main Stage, Speakers’ Corner, Creators’ Corner and Kids Area.

The festival will come to life across its stages, each opening a window on curiosity. On Main Stage, leading figures from science and culture will explore some of today’s most fascinating and topical themes. Among them: how our body might react if it had superpowers; the new frontiers of genetic research with Luigi Naldini, Director of the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy; the Olympic championMara Navarria on science, sacrifice and the joy of achieving a dream; journalist Matteo Bordoneanalysing the age-old bond between humans and cats; physicist Guido Tonelli exploring the “wonder of the quantum void”; and Massimo Temporelli, who will literally draw physics live on stage. Visitors will also discover the chemistry of chocolate with Ernst Knam, learn how neuroscience reveals the unconscious mechanisms behind our purchasing choices with Vincenzo Russo, hear the extraordinary story of a musician who underwent brain surgery while awake with neurosurgeon Christian Brogna, and learn how to avoid the traps of pseudoscience with Beatrice Mautino. The Main Stage will also host key institutional voices, including Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, who will address the topic of the energy transition.

For those seeking a more focused and personal deep dive, the Speakers’ Corner will offer direct contact with experts. This space will host in-depth dialogues, where visitors can, for example, watch the 3D printing of organs with the University of Milan, explore how artificial intelligence can help prevent crime, discover how organoids work with Simona Lodato  from Humanitas University, and debunk fake news about neurodivergence withAntonella Costantino. They will also be able to look at the future of agriculture with Patrick Gerlich, and go in search of lost civilisations with Carolina Orsini from Mudec in Milan. Next door, the Creators’ Corner will give a platform to digital science communicators who bring science to life on social media every day. For younger visitors (aged 2 to 13), the Kids Area, curated by Focus Junior, will feature a 300-square-metre laboratory where children can discover the joy of STEM subjects by getting hands-on with science. Throughout the festival, attendees can book guided tours of the Leonardo Galleries and the Spazio Area, step into the shoes of a real astronaut at Base Marte, or try The Touch, an innovative sensory escape game blending reality and virtuality in a Mars-based adventure. The new i.lab Sostenibilità will also be open, inviting visitors—through games, experiments, and immersive installations—to understand what makes a product or an action sustainable, taking into account every element within its wider system.

Among the confirmed guests are researcher Nicole Soranzo, who studies the DNA of Europeans; Elio e le Storie Tese, who will deliver a “very serious” lesson on their unique vision of musical passion; astrophysicists  Amedeo Balbi and Luca Perri, and science communicator Federico Taddia with a surprising take on Albert Einstein.

Rounding out the programme will be two evening shows: on Friday 7^th November at 8.30 pm, Federico Basso will host La scienza vista dal Basso, a light-hearted quiz show that makes learning about science fun; while on Saturday 8^th November at 8.30 pm, Massimo Polidoro will present Delitto al museo, an immersive crime night that will take participants inside the minds of investigators and the labs of forensic scientists to solve a mysterious case set in the museum itself.

The festival will close on Sunday at 6.30 pm with Luca Perri and Giacomo Moro Mauretto in La passione è un motore o un freno a mano?

What’s new

Many new features for this year’s edition of the festival. The first big news is that Focus Live 2025 will take place in the Cavallerizze area of the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci. Located next to the Enrico Toti submarine, between the Monumental Building and the Aeronaval Pavilion, the Cavallerizze are today the result of an important architectural restoration and urban redevelopment project. Originally built in the 19^th century, when the Olivetan monastery was converted into barracks, the spaces feature vast interiors, exposed brick walls and large windows.

Inside, visitors will find a large 5-metre-diameter inflatable planetarium, created in collaboration with PLANit. This won’t just be a place to gaze at the night sky, but a truly immersive, hands-on experience.

There will also be another stage — the most immersive of all — located in the Outdoor Area. After all, passion is not just something to listen to, but something to live. The Experience Areas will be richer than ever: visitors can step inside a tent used by researchers from the University of Milano-Bicocca for ice core drilling in glaciers and Antarctica, travel back in time to the Big Bang aboard a massive EGO Observatory truck, explore new worlds through virtual reality headsets, or play with the geometric tessellations of Università Cattolica. They can also test their skills on simulators, challenge artificial intelligence systems, or try rock climbing on an artificial wall — an exciting activity with wide-ranging physical and mental benefits.

Eni will also be part of Focus Live, presenting Supercalcolo, Super passione, an installation designed by Amigdala.ch (a Swiss studio specialising in new technology applications). The project explores the power of supercomputing — the silent force behind research, industry and everyday life — and builds unique stories in real time. Each visitor, through their own choices, will have the chance to create a personalised narrative with AI, both in text and voice form.

Event booking opens today on www.focuslive.it Two time slots are available: morning (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) and afternoon (2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m). Those wishing to stay all day can, of course, book both sessions.

Waiting for Focus Live 2025

Once again, Focus Live extends beyond its three festival days with a series of preparatory events, offering audiences a chance to experience science and culture in advance. For the first time, Aspettando Focus Live has expanded beyond Milan — visiting Naples in May and soon Turin, where on 25^th October at 3:15 p.m. at the Infini.to Planetarium, the event Sotto le stelle di Torino a caccia di nuovi mondi will take place — an immersive journey through exoplanets with astrophysicists. Davide Gandolfi and Gloria Guilluy, experts in exoplanetary research and climate.

Partners and sponsors

This year’s edition of Focus Live is made possible through the collaboration and support of a wide range of institutions, research centres and universities, including: ADMaiora, ASI, Business&Roads, European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), ESA, FBK, Human Technopole, IIT, INAF, Istituto Superiore Sant’Anna, JRC – Joint Research Centre, Kosmos, PLANit – Associazione dei Planetari Italiani, Politecnico di Torino, Smonting, Think About Science, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università degli Studi di Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Università degli Studi di Trieste.

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event, organised in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci and numerous partners.

MAIN PARTNERS: Eni, Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security

PARTNERS: Bayer, Grotte di Frasassi, Humanitas University, Jordan Oral Care, Subito, Toyota Motor Italia

CONTENT PARTNERS: AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, Mondadori Education

OFFICIAL RADIO: R101

In collaboration with the Cultural Olympiad of Milan Cortina 2026

AREA KIDS powered by Focus Junior

Advertising sales for Focus Live are managed by Piemme S.p.A., the brand’s exclusive advertising agency.

The communication campaign and creative concept for the event set-up were developed by Zampe Diverse, with production and organisational management by Left & Right.

Great success for “Focus Live -Traguardi” at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, Italy

At the seventh edition of the “Focus” Festival of Knowledge, all of the more than 100 free events were sold out: meetings, workshops and interactive experiences with the stars of science

Segrate, 11 November 2024 – Focus’s festival of knowledge, Focus Live, once again achieved incredible success, with over 18,000 visitors. This is the seventh consecutive year that Focus has carried out this event in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. The brand demonstrated its digital and social media strength by reaching more than 9.2 million users (a sharp increase from the 2023 edition), with posts, stories and videos shared on the Internet, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok, all of which will remain available and will be enriched with new content for fans young and old.

Focus Live – Traguardi hosted 120 nationally renowned scientists, popular science figures, and creators, including Vincenzo Schettini, Telmo Pievani, Dario Bressanini, Teresa Fornaro, Adrian Fartade, Barbara Gallavotti, Tommaso Ghidini, and Massimo Temporelli, who involved the attentive and enthusiastic audience.

“The large participation and turnout at our festival testifies to the fact that there is a great thirst for scientific knowledge in our society”, said Gian Mattia Bazzoli, Director of Focus. “These days we’ve witnessed something extraordinary: science has become a common language, capable of uniting different generations. Celebrating the Achievements of Research and Innovation in all fields, we saw young popular science figures in dialogue with established scientists, resulting in an intergenerational exchange that truly bridged the seemingly distant worlds. This shows that when popular science can be both rigorous and exciting, it succeeds in touching the deepest levels of human curiosity”.

The more than 100 events that made up this seventh edition of the Festival special were all sold out: meetings, talks, workshops, and performances that made participants reflect on the fundamental role of science in shaping our future and illustrate in popular language the achievements of human knowledge. This is all thanks to authoritative voices, innovative formats, a mix of genres, fusions between the arts, music and nature, theatre and biology, sports and technology, embracing the nuances and facets of different languages capable of deep connections and interactions.

Contributing to the excellent result of Focus Live were major players in science and beyond, including: the “Three Musketeers” Adrian Fartade, Elia Bombardelli and Benedetta Colombo, social media popular science figures beloved by the younger generation; Alberto Grandi, food history lecturer and writer; comedian Federico Basso; Giampaolo Ricci, Italian national basketball team member and Doctor of Mathematics, who shared how he managed to combine study with competition at the highest level; Manuel Bortuzzo, bronze medalist in swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, who spoke about his story; and Gian Francesco Giudice, Director of the Department of Theoretical Physics at CERN in Geneva. There was no shortage of Italian Institute of Technology researchers: Adriana Traviglia and Ferdinando Cannella, who brought Ringhio, the first robot archaeologist; Federica Pirrone, Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Milan; Marco Martinelli, popular science figure; and Roberto Valbuzzi, chef and TV host. Ample space was given to health, with Arsela Prelaj, researcher at the National Cancer Institute in Milan, along with Eugenio Santoro, researcher at the Mario Negri Institute and neurosurgeon, Pietro Mortini.

Once again this year, Focus Live gave its many visitors the opportunity to travel into the past or immerse themselves in the future through virtual reality, escape rooms and more, experiencing firsthand how science and technology are shaping the world around us. The experiences at the Experience Area were possible thanks to installations curated by amazing partners like Humanitas University, Scuola Sant’Anna, the Italian Institute of Technology, Airc, Joint Research Centre – European Commission, Politecnico, and the University of Milan.

For children and teens, the Kids area, curated by Focus Junior, offered an even richer program of STEM workshops, with a dedicated stage for talks with writers and scientists. From a magic school to games with graphs; from the use of a digital microscope to travelling around the world with a digital globe; from an escape room to travelling like particles of light to a trip on Santa Claus’s sleigh; from the use of artificial intelligence to write a story to creating a comic, robotics and economics and finance workshops.

Among the new features of this edition were Artificial Intelligence Masterclasses taught by Federico Favot and Jacopo Perfetti of Promptdesign.it, with whom Focus started MYIA, online courses on artificial intelligence. The two lecturers then took the topic to the Main Stage in the talk titled The 7 “Superpowers” You Didn’t Know You Had (Thanks to AI).

Also on display at Focus Live was the suit that will be used by astronauts on the Artemis III mission to return to the Moon, made by Prada and Axiom.

Headlining the Friday and Saturday evenings are two gripping shows: Science Shots, an engaging and interactive conversation between Licia Troisi and Virginia Benzi on the exploration of the unexpected. Then Change the Climate, Change the Music, Change Us Too, a two-voice, three-string, four-composer dialogue on climate change that featured journalist and popular science figure Massimo Polidoro and climatologist Elisa Palazzi on stage along with the Milan Symphony Orchestra ensemble. Closing the festival on Sunday was the lectio magistralis What Makes Us Human by evolutionary philosopher, Telmo Pievani.

Partners and sponsors

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event, created in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, and numerous partners:

MAIN PARTNER: Eni, ING
PARTNER: Autostrade per l’italia, Bayer, Humanitas University, Jordan Care, Kia, VTech
CONTENT PARTNER: Airc, Deloitte Foundation, Mondadori Education
OFFICIAL RADIO STATION: R101
AREA KIDS powered by Focus Junior

This edition of Focus Live sees the collaboration and support of various institutions, research centres, and universities: Civic Aquarium of Milan, Ars Dimicandi, Asi, Enea, Esa, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Henesis, IIT, Inaf, Joint Research Centre, Civic Museum of Natural History of Milan, Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Shake srl, Civic Planetarium of Milan, Polytechnic University of Milan, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Smonting, Think about Science, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, University of Milan, University of Milan-Bicocca, University of Ferrara and Way experience.

Advertising for Focus Live is curated by Piemme S.p.A, the Mondadori Scienza S.p.A.

Production and administration by the Left&Right event agency. The advertising campaign and the creativity of the installation were conceived by Zampe Diverse with the help of Artificial Intelligence expert Eddy Anselmi, who produced the visuals generated by generative AI.

With over 18,000 visitors, the format of the Focus Festival of Knowledge, held for the sixth consecutive year in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, is confirmed to be a winner. For three days, this major event attracted an active and interested public audience, who had the opportunity to engage with the scientific world and experience the most innovative technological advances, meet and listen to communicators, experts and professionals in information, medicine, science and sports, as well as immerse themselves in worlds of virtual reality.

“We have once again travelled from the stars to the deep sea, from space missions to genetics, from plants to robots, from animal noises to artificial intelligence, giving this edition of Focus Live — entitled Visions — a fun overview of science and knowledge, research and history.  And we got to experience it hands-on by offering immersive virtual reality experiences, samples of the metaverse, and workshops for adults and children. We also mixed genres by combining science, music and theatre. But the most spectacular “vision” was the record turnout and participation of thousands of curious, attentive and enthusiastic people. They are the best reward for our efforts and encourage us to always do better,” said Raffaele Leone, director of Focus.

The more than 70 sold-out events featured eighty personalities, including scientists, researchers, astronauts and communicators, along with active participation in games, workshops, edutainment, interactive experiences and meetings in the Experience Area. There was clear awe and interest in the more than 40 installations, starting with the giant and colourful animals of Cracking Art. Lots of children flocked to the kids area for the Geronimo Stilton show and all the playful and scientific activities organised by Focus Junior, Focus Pico and Focus Wild, in collaboration with Mondadori Education, Way Experience, Shake and UniversiKid.

Providing an exceptional backdrop, the National Museum of Science and Technology was divided for this special initiative into five major thematic areas (Technology, Sustainability, Science, Space, Medicine and Health) with three separate stages — the Main Stage, Speakers’ corner and Creators’ corner — for talks and meetings.

Tons of content contributed to the success of Focus Live Visions: from the surprises of the Animaloids — robotic quadrupeds such as HyQ Real1, capable of challenging humans (and win!) at Twister — to quizzes animated by Stefano Bartezzaghi; from the physics experiments of Vincenzo Schettini, the star professor of TikTok, to the lunar earthworms of the future, to the sustainable comics of activist Altares; from the Telegatto delivered to Carlo Conti to the experiences of sportsmen such as freediving champion Mike Maric. Plus sailing icon Giovanni Soldini as a hologram, former soccer coach Arrigo Sacchi, astronaut Roberto Vittori, communicator Barbara Gallavotti and philosopher Luciano Floridi, immunologist and scientific director of Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Alberto Mantovani, and Stefano Mancuso, Italy’s most influential botanist, together with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Milan guided the audience in discovering the intelligence of plants. Evolutionary scientist and communicator Telmo Pievani and actor Marco Paolini closed the packed three-day schedule with a science show dedicated to Charles Darwin, one of the most visionary scientists in history.

Also confirming the brand’s strength and formula for success were the hundreds of thousands of views and social media interactions related to live broadcasts, with posts and videos shared on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter. All the content was widely captured by the print, digital radio and TV media, and will remain available on Focus.it, the website of the monthly magazine Focus, which has seen peak views these days due to Focus Live events. The content will be enriched with extra contributions to continue to intrigue and win over fans, both young and old.

This edition of Focus Live was developed through the support and collaboration of the Civic Aquarium of Milan, Italian Air Force, Asi, Biokip Labs, CNR, Enea, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Giotto (Fila), IIT, Il Piccolo Teatro, INFN, Joint Research Centre, Italian Navy, Milan Civic Museum of Natural History, Milan Symphony Orchestra, Shake srl, Milan Civic Planetarium, Polytechnic University of Milan, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, University of Padua and Way Experience.

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event organised in partnership with the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, Mediamond and numerous other entities:

MAIN PARTNERS: Koelliker Group
PARTNERS: Carglass, Honor, Humanitas University
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER: European Commission
CONTENT PARTNERS: AIRC, CDI, Mondadori Education, Opera San Francesco, Rilegno, TUV SUD
ART GUEST: Cracking Art
TECHNICAL PARTNER: Lete
OFFICIAL RADIO: R101
KIDS AREA powered by Focus Junior

What will the world be like in 10 years? “How do we want to live in 2029”? This is the theme of the 2019 edition of Focus Live, the popular science festival of the magazine Focus, which, from 21 to 24 November brings to a conclusion at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, an extraordinary journey that has taken in the most fascinating and decisive issues for the future of mankind and the planet, and discussed the great challenges the humanity must face and the tools it needs to win.

Over 15,000 visitors (of which over 1,800 students), 117 laboratories for children and adults, 182 speakers on the main stage and in speakers’ corners, 44 interactive and multimedia installations: these are the numbers of Focus Live’s debut in Milan last years, with great public success for the event and the digital content. This year over 11,000 people have already taken part in the first two stages, held, respectively, on 1 – 2 June at the Porto Antico in Genoa, and on 18, 19 and 20 October in Trento at MUSE, Museo delle Scienze.

At the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci the discussion will focus on the environment, climate, ecosystems, but also on genetics, artificial intelligence, migration, space travel, robots and much more. A great celebration of science, open to everyone, where adults and children can let themselves be amazed by installations and scientific experiments, take part in interactive laboratories and get their hands on the most advanced technologies, as well as meeting some of the biggest experts and scholars in a range of disciplines and personalities well-known to the public. Leading international experts will be the protagonists of unique encounters that will outline the state-of-the art of recent discoveries in a manner tat is accessible for the general public, as well as for fans and enthusiasts. They include the plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, the physicist and popular scientist Guido Emilio Tonelli, the climatologist Luca Mercalli, the diver Umberto Pellizzari, the scientific YouTubers Adrian Fartade and Luca Perri and many more.

In line with the style of Focus, a Mondadori Group brand, science comes to life in unusual and fascinating ways. From “space conquests” with astronaut Umberto Guidoni to some of the most surreal scenarios with laughs and semi-serious reflections with Saverio Raimondo, but also an ability to distinguish the true from the false, between information and propaganda with Selvaggia Lucarelli, the role of the youngest generations with Sofia Viscardi and with the TikToker with more than 2.5 million followers Rosalba Andolfi, the economic outlook that we can expect with Carlo Cottarelli, or the secret life of a rebellious genius like Leonardo Da Vinci together with Massimo Polidoro and the future of music with Saturnino.

And you can even take “a walk” on Mars with 3D visors, and without gravity, or experience the sensation of surviving in high water, watch the robot surgeon “Da Vinci” at work (able, for example, to peel a grape and then sew it back on perfectly), create a perfect avatar of oneself to interact with a virtual world, for example, trying on clothes online, testing your skills on an incredibly realistic driving or flight simulator, experience the sensation – using a special visor – of living with reduced senses in order to understand the difficulties of people with hearing or sight impairments, discover the kitchen of the future, cooking with artificial intelligence and the infinite number of recipes of GialloZafferano, in the company of the starred chef Alessandro Negrini and his interactive showcooking with Alexa and Google Home.

And there are protagonists also for the little ones, with the kids’ area laboratories to try interacting with robots, discover the wonders of water, virtually re-live the moon landing experience and play with the Science show of the scientific apprentice Giuseppe Spitaleri and the crew from the House of Talent.

Everything will be useful in attempting to answer the greatest question of them all: will we be able to deal with the emergencies facing the planet? The most important of which are the climate and the environment, demography and migration, and the fourth industrial revolution: the enormous climatic changes that are transforming the world we have always known forever; the aging populations of parts of the world and the increase in the inhabitants of others, with the associated imbalances and social tensions; the widespread use of artificial intelligence systems, with the potential to disrupt the job market and, if not managed well, risk concentrating wealth even more in the hands of the few, and increasing inequality between populations.

For tickets and a complete programme, please go to: www.focuslive.it

Opening times:

Thursday 21 November 9:30-18.00

Friday 22 November 9:30-19.00

Saturday 23 November 9.30-21.00

Sunday 24 November 9:30-19.00

Focus is Italy’s most widely read magazine, with 5.8 million readers and digital users (Source: NIELSEN MEDIA IMPACT DATA FUSION audipress 2019.1e audiweb 2.0 Feb 19), and 2 million fans on social networks.

Focus Live has been developed with the patronage of: Agenzia spaziale Italiana ASI, Agenziale Spaziale Europea ESA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT, Enea, Inaf, Virtual Space Systems.

The organisation of Focus Live has been made possible thanks to the support of:

Main Partners: ab medica, Essilor, IBM

Partners: Aiteca, Celgene, Commissione Europea, e-distribuzione, Gilead, Grimaldi Group, Novartis, Oppo, Osservatorio Terapie Avanzate, Pfizer, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pegaso, Roche, Toyota

In collaboration with: Opera San Francesco

Partner Area Focus Junior: Candia

Supporter: Università San Raffaele

Charity Partner: Lega del Filo d’Oro

Media Partner: Focus, Mediaset, Focus Junior, Meteo.it, Smartworld

Radio Ufficiale: Radio Monte Carlo

In collaboration with Istituto Oikos

What will the world be like in 10 years? “How do we want to live in 2029?” This is the key topic of the latest edition of Focus Live, the festival of popular science of the monthly magazine Focus, which on 1 and 2 June will start from Genoa on an extraordinary journey across the most fascinating and decisive issues facing the future of humanity and the planet, before moving on to other stages in Trento in October and Milan in November.

For two days the Porto Antico, Genoa’s old port district, will become a large stage for the Italian scientific community, along with guests of international standing. conferences, interactive installations and much more. The main stage and speakers’ corner at the Magazzini del Cotone will be the location for conferences, shows and  talk shows; while the Città dei bambini e dei ragazzi and Porta Siberia will be the places for labs, for young and old, in collaboration with the Festival of Science Association; then, Piazzale Mandraccio will be where the most spectacular attractions will be concentrated, with drones on the hunt for plastic in the sea, an authentic fleet of marine robots with an underwater laboratory able to reach a depth of 5,000 metres, dives by specialist freedivers, and much more. And, finally, the foyer of the Centro Congressi, where, between immersive experiences and virtual reality, visitors can enjoy the excitement of living like scientists in direct contact with the most amazing installations.

Among the many protagonists of the first stage of Focus Live in Genoa, which will be officially opened on Saturday 1 June at 10 am by the Governor of Liguria Giovanni Toti, will be Alberto Cappato, General Manager of the Porto Antico, Michele Lanzinger Director of the Science Museum of Trento and Fiorenzo Galli, Director of the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan; in fact both the MUSE in Trento and MUST in Milan are partners of the whole tour.

The Genoa event will welcome over 100 guests from the universities, laboratories and research institutes where the future of the planet’s scientific progress is developed, but that’s not. Also joining them will be the astronaut Umberto Guidoni for a “journey into a black hole”, in the company of the Italian researchers from the international team that for the first time photographed the most mysterious objects in the cosmos; the astronaut Maurizio Cheli will talk about how he climbed Everest, the comedian Saverio Raimondo with his “semi-comic show on the environment” will make us reflect on our limits, and the plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso will explain how plants can help us to save the earth and humanity. And, along with them, many others.

As in the style of Focus, science takes shape in curious and fascinating ways. So, for example, you can take a “stroll” on Mars with a 3D headset without gravity, or take part in an amusing “trial” against homo sapiens to understand whether man deserves to dominate the earth, observe the wonders of the human mind in an amazing two-voice show, but also “play” with genetics to see how much we have in common with chimpanzees and the plants that surround us, or experience the sensation of surviving a flood, designing a drone to powering a “pedal cinema”, transforming physical exercise into energy. And there will also be space for science  “at the table”, with three chefs, two experts in nutrition and a challenge: to create a refined but sustainable meal with just €1.

And, above all, we will discuss the climate; the technologies to reduce environmental risks and the relationship between humans and the planet’s other “inhabitants”. But there will also be debates about genetics, artificial intelligence, migration, space travel, robots and much more. A great festival of science open to all, where adults and children will be amazed by installations and scientific experiments, and take part in interactive laboratories and get their hands on the most advanced technologies.

Last year, at the only stage held in Milan at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, , Focus Live attracted over 15,000 visitors (of which, over 1,800 students), with 117 labs for kids and adults, 182 speakers, and 44 interactive and multimedia installations. The aim. also for this year, is to offer an answer to the biggest of questions: will we be able to deal with the emergencies facing our planet? The largest of which are climate and the environment, demographics and migration, and the fourth industrial revolution.

For tickets and a full programme for the first stage in Genoa, please go to www.focuslive.it

The entire tour will be accompanied by a charity partnership with the Lega del Filo d’oro which supports deaf-blind and psychosensory disabled people.

Focus Live is made possible by the Patronage of: Agenzia spaziale Italiana ASI, Agenziale Spaziale Europea ESA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT, Enea, Inaf, Mars Planet

The organisation of Focus Live is made possible thanks to the support of:

Main Partner: abmedica, Essilor and Ibm
Partner: Università Telematica Pegaso
Supporter: Costa Crociere
Media Partner: Focus tv and meteo.it
Official radio is Radio Monte Carlo
The event in Genoa has been organised in collaboration with Porto Antico di Genova, La città dei bambini e dei ragazzi and l’Associazione Festival della Scienza.

Today saw the official opening of the first edition of the “Focus Live” Festival, an event organised by Focus – the Mondadori Group brand that is a point of reference for popular science and entertainment – in cooperation with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

The programme, which will run in Milan until 11 November at the spaces of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, features over 200 events, including conferences, workshops, debates, shows, labs and interactive installations – run in collaboration with Italian and international universities, institutions, research centres and companies – with the aim of presenting and offering a more detailed look at the current challenges facing humanity and the tools we have to  meet them.

At the official opening held this morning, Piero Angela was presented with a prize for his outstanding contribution to popular science by the editor of Focus Jacopo Loredan.

“For us, Focus Live is the culmination of an initiative that started one year ago together with the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan – declared the editor of Focus Jacopo Loredan. Focus Live, just like our magazine, is within the reach of anyone who is interested and curious; and we think it will be unconventional, stimulating, fun. This can be seen from the programme that we have pit together: with a rich variety and something for all ages, including events and labs also for young children.”

“We are delighted that at last Milan has a festival of science and we are proud that it will take place at our Museum with an innovative format – emphasised Fiorenzo Galli, General Manager of the  National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. With the ongoing cooperation, enthusiasm and ambition that we share with the Focus team, we have stimulated each other and developed a target of involving the public in unique experiences, with special personalities, around issues and topics that allow us to imagine the future and to help us to build it together. The result of the combined efforts of Focus and the Museum is an ideal marriage that brings together the  vision, competences, experience, networks and cultural resources of  both.”

Genetics, the environment, immortality, artificial intelligence, space travel, sex, climate change, robotics: these are just some of the issues on which the rich programme of events of “Focus Live” will concentrate, a winning exploration across 5 thematic areas (Earth, Homo Sapiens, Science, Technology, Space), and that will enable the public to explore the various fields of knowledge in a rigorous but fun way, in line with the Focus style.

On the fourth day of “Focus Live” over 100 scientists, presenters, journalists, writers and many other experts, will illustrate the latest developments in a number of scientific and technological fields and offer an overview of the adventure of Homo sapiens from our origins to the present, in order to have a better understanding of the big choices and ethical and pragmatic dilemmas our species has to face.

Tomorrow, Friday 9 November, the main stage will feature a one of many protagonists, climate scientist Luca Mercalli (at 10.30 am), who will touch on the very delicate and current issue of global warming and associated climate change, while at 11.30 am, on the same stage, pharmacologist Silvio Garattini, president of the Mario Negri Institute, will illustrate some of the most recent medical discoveries and talk about the current state of cures for diseases that we still haven’t defeated.

At 12.30 pm,  visitors will be able to explore the new frontiers in astronomy and listen to the “music of the stars” with astrophysicist Marica Branchesi.

On Saturday 10 November, at 1 pm, Salvatore Aranzulla, the popular information technology expert, will reveal many of the secrets for success on the internet, while Guido Tonelli from Cern will take a closer look at a number of issues related to cosmology (11 am).

Finally, on Sunday 11 November, the final day of “Focus Live”, we will examine the future of space missions with astronaut Paolo Nespoli (at 5 pm) and at the present state of the earth as seen by cartoonist Zerocalcare (at 12).

Across the entire events area  there will be a number of installations that will allow visitors to get an hands on experience of some of the wonders of science and technology, such as the transparent bath (in the Homo Sapiens Area) which is two metres long and 1.70m deep, and simulates the conditions of our organism when we are in in apnea. The Technology Area will host the robot Centauro, developed by IIT in Genoa and able to provide support in difficult contexts, such as natural and man-made catastrophes. In the  Earth Area, the Natinla Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology will make available to the audience of Focus Live an earthquake simulator: 6 people can access a platform and feel the sensations of horizontal movement of the kind provoked by a tremor. And then, in the Science Area, it will be possible to try Hyperscanning, a method with which a number of people interact while their brains are being simultaneously scanned, and discovering, for example, affinities between couples.

There will also be a Kids Area, run by the magazine Focus Junior, entirely dedicated to smaller children, where kids can take part in labs on topics such as space, coding, science and diet.

The realisation of “Focus Live” extends also to events the iterations of the Focus brands: an authentic system which in addition to the print and digital magazine includes a range of titles (Focus Extra, Focus Domande e Risposte, Focus Storia, Focus Storia Collection, Focus Storia Wars, Focus Junior, Focus Pico, Focus Wild), the web site Focus.it with a monthly audience of more than 1 million unique users, the Mediaset TV channel. on digital terrestrial channel number 35, the Facebook page, with over 1,500,000 fans and an app specially created to use the content of the print magazine in augmented reality.

The complete programme of the Festival is a available at https://www.focus.it/focus-live.

Tickets are available on the site of the del Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia at this link: http://www.museoscienza.org/focuslive.

Partners

“Focus Live” is supported by a number of prestigious partners.

Main Partners: e-distribuzione, IBM, Volvo

Partners: abmedica, AnnurKap, Candia, Calligaris, Essilor, Fruittella, Genertel, Lenovo, Università Telematica Pegaso, Yakult.

Charity Partner: IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele

Media Partners: Focus Junior, Focus Tv Mediaset, Meteo.it, R101

With the Patronage of: Asi, CNR, Esa and Inaf

With thanks to: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università di Padova, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa, Muse di Trento, Aeronautica Militare, Esercito, British Interplanetary Society, Italian Mars Society, INGV, Ris dei Carabinieri, Sony PlayStation, Imra, Jrc, Infn, Asferico, Orto Botanico di Padova and Bloom Project.