A truly moving ceremony took place today at the Municipality of Selargius for the awarding of the honor to Matteo Bachetti, the young astrophysicist who, thanks to his discoveries about pulsar stars and the subsequent international recognition, has become a celebrity far beyond regional and national borders.
The Mayor, the President of the City Council, and numerous Councilors attended the ceremony, as did the president of INAF (but in this role especially as Matteo’s thesis advisor and a major architect of the Sardinia Radio Telescope project that led to the relocation of the Observatory’s headquarters from Capoterra to Selargius) Nichi D’Amico, the scholar Stefano Salvatici, and the journalist Stefano Birocchi.
It was particularly noted by many that such an honor is usually awarded to individuals who are quite advanced in years and who have achieved significant results over an entire career, but are, after all, close to retirement and potentially fruitful for subsequent studies. Since Matteo was born in 1981, it goes without saying that this is just one (and certainly not the first) of the many recognitions he will receive over the course of a career that is much more than promising.
Matteo Bachetti then presented himself with an original and almost “intimate” presentation in which he reviewed the various stages of his family, social, and especially scientific life, touching on his great passions: the sky, scouting, and the guitar.
The beauty of this ceremony was the perfectly natural and imperceptible fusion between the public dimension of the event and the more than tangible presence of the many people from Matteo’s private sphere, people who have always been by his side, primarily his wife Marta and their two little ones, Lara and Elsa, accompanied by many enthusiastic friends.