On 28 November, 56 years ago Enrico Fermi, one of the most illustrious physicists in Italian and world scientific history, passed away. Fermi, a memorable scientist, was nicknamed “the last man who knew everything”: a nickname that summarizes well the greatness of his character. In the course of his career he manifested on several occasions his extraordinary abilities, carrying out different topics of study, from quantum mechanics to nuclear physics. He linked his name to the Institute of Physics and the boys from Via Panisperna. When fascism imposed the racial laws, he preferred to leave Italy immediately. He spent his last years in Chicago, where he taught at the university, becoming a myth for all. One of his collaborators at the funeral said: “whoever knew Professor Fermi immediately realized that he was a man with an extraordinary assortment of human abilities: balance, ingenuity, simplicity and sincerity; who can say that he had ever seen such and such quantities in one person?
