یاران موافق همه از دست شدند
در پای اجل یکان یکان پست شدندخوردیم ز یک شراب در مجلس عمردوری دو سه پیشتر ز ما مست شدند
I have the sad task of announcing that Sandro Turrini, retired Professor of Quantum Physics at the University of Bologna, died on September 14, after almost 6 continuous months in the hospital and countless number of intestine surgeries.
I am deeply saddened as these stars of my life are extinguished and the voices that used to call my name with friendship, kindness and affection are silenced. In my life, I have had very few friends...he was one of them, one of the remaining connections that I had to my youth, to my time as a student of theoretical physics, and to the friendships formed at that time; when Love and Justice were the same.
He was also my connection to Italy, the greatest Artistic and Intellectual country on Earth, and her great people. I am sorry that our time together was so short. I recall a photo of Sandro with his mother, when he had just become a Lectore, both of them smiling and happy.
Sandro was an only-child, and he was very close to his mother. He used to visit the cemetery every week, and I remember an afternoon that I spent with him there, walking, as he told me the stories of many notable personages buried there.
I recall the album of photographs that he took of his girlfriend - with whom he had remained very much in love throughout his life - when they were both young, and a trip to Venice with her to Ca' Dario (Palazzo Dario) that he had planned, which never occurred.
I am overwhelmed by the loss of that beautiful romance in his life and of the fact that nothing now survives of him but a few scientific papers and religious essays as well as memories of him in the minds of those who knew him and who had liked him.
For myself, I am always grateful to him for his kindness and his hospitality shown to myself and to my family during our wonderful trip to Italy so many years ago.
There is a night which my heart has stolen from that trip to Bologna, when we dined together in De Vito pizzeria, right across from Vito a San Luca, with its Byzantine icon (according to him).
Napoleon, when hearing about Laplace's latest book, said, 'Mr. Laplace, they tell me you have written this large book on the system of the universe and have never even mentioned its creator.' Laplace responded, "I had no need of that hypothesis." To which Naopleon replied, "Yes, but what a beautiful hypothesis."
On such days as this, I appreciate Napoleon's remark very much indeed. Sandro loved the Catholic Church, and I hope, as he always believed, that he is now in a much better place.
A conference video is here:
https://youtu.be/9uPzputxM6c?is=L72qK7oHS4VWEyw2
"...never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee."
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