From May 5 to 8,
Pisa will host a festival focused on the cultural, technological, social and
productive aspects of the Internet in everyday life. Events and displays
explore the use of the Internet as a tool for personal creativity, but also
warn parents and children about the risks of unsafe Internet use.
Pisa claims the title as the Italian ‘cradle of
information technology’ because its university was the first in Italy to
establish a course on computer science during the academic year of 1969-70,
together with Genoa and the University of Udine, which instituted the first
Ph.D. in computer science.
Pisa is also renowned for building Italy’s first
computer. The Pisa Electronic Computer (CEP), invented at the University of
Pisa in 1959, was as big as a tennis court, measuring approximately 70 square
metres. That same year, the Olivetti firm used the CEP to invent the first
electronic calculator for commercial use.
The Pisa Internet Festival, sponsored by the National Research Council
and the Science Festival of Genoa for the 150 Years of Science project, is
organized by the Institute of Informatics and Telematics with Registro.it, the
city and province of Pisa, the Pisa Chamber of Commerce, the city’s
universities and the Scuola Normale Superiore.
For information about the event, see www.festivalinternet.it.
