From 14 to 16 November the city of the Saint hosts three days of meetings, workshops and shows to investigate the relationship between knowledge and society.

Can’t make it to Evidence Network Live next week? Or will you come, but can’t do without your weekly dose of science? Don’t worry: from 14 to 16 November there is the CICAP Fest in Padua. A perfect opportunity to combine business with pleasure: three days of science, critical thinking and – why not – a visit to the city which houses the oldest Botanical Garden in the world and where Galileo taught for 18 years.

Beyond borders. This year’s theme is “Sconfinare: the adventure of knowledge”. A title that sounds like a provocation in times of walls and divisions, but which is actually an invitation to dialogue. CICAP and FRAME-Scientific Digressions have created a space where scientists, researchers, journalists and politicians can discuss without ideological barriers.

“Sconfinare: the adventure of knowledge” invites the public to cross the limits of what is known and explore new perspectives. To trespass means letting yourself be surprised, questioning your certainties and opening yourself up to new horizons, guided by reason and enthusiasm for knowledge. In a world crossed by global crises, disinformation and increasingly rapid technological transformations, knowledge remains the most precious and essential asset. It is the compass that allows you to orient yourself between facts and opinions, to distinguish reality and fiction, to overcome the boundaries imposed by prejudices and misleading narratives.

Obviously, knowledge is not an obstacle-free path. How do you defend yourself from conspiracy theories and manipulations? The CICAP Fest presents itself as a large open laboratory, a space for discussion where scientists, popularizers, researchers and cultural protagonists share tools and experiences to help us preserve the “value of evidence”. The goal is to build a freer and more aware citizenship.

What not to miss. With hundreds of guests and events, finding your way can be difficult. Here is a roundup of some of the most curious and unmissable events. The rest can be found here.

Let’s start with the guest of honor of 2025, David Spiegelhalter, professor emeritus at Cambridge and one of the world’s leading statisticians. Director of the Winton Centre, he has dedicated his career to making statistical principles accessible to all, showing how data guide our lives and how critical reading is essential for decision-making. His meeting, “The art of statistics”, is Saturday 15th at 10.30am. If you think statistics are boring, he will change your mind.

The inauguration event of the festival, “Beyond borders: science, society, politics”, will be held on Friday 14th at 4.30pm.

It is dedicated to the complex relationship between science and politics and will see the participation of leading institutional and academic figures, including Giorgio Gori (member of the European Parliament), Francesco Profumo (former Minister of Education and President of Isybank) and Linda Laura Sabbadini (pioneer of gender statistics).

Dario Bressanini returns, who on Saturday 15th at 5.15pm dismantles “miraculous” diets with the meeting “Odd diets and how to avoid them”. His starting point? A simple and inexorable law: if we introduce more energy than we consume, we gain weight; if we consume more than we take in, we lose weight. Bressanini will also talk about “Truth and lies about water” (Saturday 15th at 12:00).

“When in doubt, I’ll insult you. Surviving hatred on social media”, a meeting dedicated to how aggression and hostility spread online will be held on Saturday 15th at 6pm. The protagonists are two widely followed voices on the topic of language and communication: the sociolinguist Vera Gheno and the radio presenter Chiara Galeazzi.

How do we talk about sex without falling into clichés? Emmanuele Jannini (known face of SuperQuark and Noos) will take care of it in the meeting “Let’s dispel the myths about sex” (Saturday 15th at 2.15pm). A clear comparison to distinguish science from the distortions of popular culture.

Our health is among the best in the world, and the credit goes to the National Health Service. But today it is at risk. Rosy Bindi, former Minister of Health, will talk about it in the meeting “Let’s save the National Health Service” (Saturday 15th at 3pm), discussing privatisation, lack of resources and differentiated autonomy.

How is fake news created today? A little money and a little time are enough to generate not only images and videos, but entire web portals identical to newspapers. A panel with Virginia Padovese, Giuseppe Scuotri and Valeria Zuccoli (Saturday 15th at 12.15pm) will explain how disinformers use AI in the event “Making (dis)information with AI: the fake newspaper is online!”.

‘is then a more disturbing use. AI is increasingly used to control borders and manage migratory flows. “If AI decides who can cross the borders” (Saturday 15th at 4pm), with Fabio Chiusi and Valeria Zuccoli, questions what it means to delegate decisions on human rights to an algorithm and the risk of amplifying discrimination.

The Quantum Computer: It seemed like science fiction, today it is reality. Simone Montangero (Sunday 16th at 11:00) will explain in “It seemed impossible. The quantum computer will change the world” how this promises to revolutionize medicine, energy and cybersecurity.

“The dawn of history, in the Mediterranean”, scheduled for Sunday 16th at 12.15pm, will be a journey into the thousand-year history of the Mediterranean.

The geneticist and writer Guido Barbujani and the journalist of “Il Post” Luca Misculin will discuss, combining science, history and current affairs.

Why do we forget? And why is it a biological necessity and not a fault? . Sergio Della Sala, internationally renowned neuroscientist and president emeritus of CICAP, talks about it in the meeting “In Praise of Oblivion” (Sunday 16th at 3pm), dedicated to the functioning of our memory.

In a world that measures everything by quantity, “doing less” can be a revolution, especially in medicine. On this topic, Fabrizio Elia and Ludovico Furlan will dialogue with the pharmacologist Silvio Garattini, President of the Mario Negri Institute and honorary member of CICAP, in the meeting “Doing less to do better” on Sunday 16th at 4.15pm.

There will also be room for mysteries and incredible stories. The physicist Ettore Majorana disappeared in 1938. Twenty years later, an entrepreneur said he met him in a monastery, where Majorana designed a machine for infinite energy and the transmutation of matter. Lorenzo Paletti (Saturday 15th at 11:00) reconstructed this crazy story in the meeting “The machine of Majorana and Pelizza”. The chemist Luigi Garlaschelli (Saturday 15th at 6pm) presents “Between the folds of the Shroud”, a true scientific thriller. A chemist expert in medieval art is paid to create a perfect copy of the Shroud. But the assignment turns out to be dangerous: who controls it?

Massimo Polidoro (Saturday 15th at 2.00pm) takes us on a fascinating journey to discover the origins of man with “Investigation into our origins”, from myths to Darwin’s theory, up to the latest discoveries on ancient DNA.

SCIENCE & ENTERTAINMENT. The CICAP Fest also enlivens the evenings in Padua with two unmissable events at the Pollini Conservatory:

“Stars, galaxies and sequins: the variety show of space”: Friday 14th at 9pm. An evening show dedicated to space, to answer fundamental questions: “Are we alone in the universe? Where is everyone?”. On stage, among others, Paolo Attivissimo, Giovanni Covone and Edwige Pezzulli, with the musical accompaniment of Gianluigi Carlone.
“Trial of Galileo”: Saturday 15th at 9pm. Let’s relive the 1633 trial in a game of improvisation and disclosure conducted by Francesco Lancia. Scientists and popularizers such as Beatrice Mautino, Silvia Bencivelli and Massimo Pigliucci will have to defend Galileo and convince the jury, using their advanced knowledge without being convicted.

And to start the day off right, every morning at 9.30 there is “The cicap fest press review”. A moment to critically analyze the week’s news related to science, the unusual and the mysterious. Leading the press review, alongside Beatrice Mautino, Marco Martinelli and Roberta Villa, will be Marco Ferrari, a name and signature well known to Evidence Network readers.

Exhibitions and Experiences. At the CICAP Fest you can experience science first-hand. Here are the main activities.

“Underground. A visual journey to the extreme places of the planet”: The Botanical Garden inaugurates Jacopo Pasotti’s photographic exhibition. The inauguration is Sunday 16th at 10.30am. A visual journey from Icelandic fumaroles to Andean lagoons, to discover how life adapts and co-evolves in extreme and unthinkable environments. (The exhibition can be visited until 6 January 2026).

“A new tomorrow”: at the Altinate San Gaetano Cultural Center, an exhibition curated by the Pezcoller Foundation. An immersive experience on the complexity of cancer and the value of scientific research, through real images collected by doctors and researchers. (The exhibition is available for the entire duration of the CICAP Fest, from 14 to 16 November).

For the little ones (and not only), on Saturday 15th from 2.00pm to 7.00pm and on Sunday 16th from 10.00am to 1.00pm and from 2.30pm to 6.00pm, there are continuous workshops: from “Zucchero & co.”, to explore the chemistry, history and geography of sugar, to “Diversi da chi?” (curated by the AIRC Foundation), a journey into DNA, the language common to all life forms, up to “Science in a box”, to discover biology and natural sciences with experiments and games.